Joliet Noon Lions announce student poster winners

Two Joliet students are the local winners of the 2022-23 Lions lnternational Peace Poster contest.

The theme this year was “Lead with Compassion.”

The Joliet Noon Lions club sponsors two competitions each year for the contest, a Purple Lions contest and a Gold Lions contest, according to a news release from the Joliet Noon Lions.

The Purple contest winner for 2023 is ldaly Campa. The Gold contest winner for 2023 is Nelly Hernandez.

Both winners are 12, attend Washington Junior High School in Joliet and are members of the school’s art club, the Joliet Noon Lions said. The contest is for youth ages 11 through 13 and is sponsored by a Lions Club.

The contest’s objective is to “promote peace, tolerance and international understanding,” as well as to encourage youth to “think about peace, creatively express what it means to them and share that unique vision to the world,” the Joliet Noon Lions said.

The sponsoring teachers were Christine May and Kristen Krefft.

The local winning posters are entered into the district contest. This district has 60 clubs, which are eligible to submit posters, the Joliet Noon Lions said.

Joliet Noon Lions president Phillip Martinez said in the release that Idaly Campa’s poster won at the district level and went onto the state competition.

The Joliet Noon Lions has participated in the international contest for several years, the club said.

“There has always been stiff local competition,” Dianne Argoudelis, contest chairwoman, said in the release. “We usually get dozens of entries from District 86, which has fully cooperated with us over the years. One year, there were more than 50 posters.”

The international winner will receive $5,000. The 23 merit award winners each will receive $500.

The international winning peace poster images are featured on items such as note cards, T-shirts and reusable bags, the Joliet Noon Lions said.

The theme of the 2023-2024 contest will be, “Dare to Dream.”