Hammond Reads, Inc., recently recognized the winners of its 15th annual Essay Contest at a ceremony at Morton High School in Hammond, at which time the Face of Literacy Award was presented to a longtime member who recently retired.
This year's Essay Contest had the theme, "Who is your favorite animal hero (real or imaginary) in a book?" The categories, winners, and the animal heroes they selected were:
Kindergarten: Laura Gawron, Lafayette School: Froggy from the book, "Froggy's Sleepover" by Jonathan London
1st Grade: Malachi Harper, Lafayette School: Pete from the book, "Pete the Cat Saves Christmas" created and illustrated by James Dean; story by Eric Litwin
2nd Grade: Te'Ron Bryant, Lafayette School: Charlotte, from the book, "Brave Charlotte" by Any Stohner
3rd Grade: Hailey Wojtaszek, St. Casimir School: Clancy, from the book, "Clancy the Courageous Cow" by Lachie Hume
4th Grade: Kasiyah Murphy, Lafayette School: Stuart Little, from the book, "Stuart Little" by E. B. White
5th Grade: Evelyn Alamo, Lafayette School: Charlotte, from the book, "Charlotte's Web" by E. B. White
6th Grade: Abigail Wojtaszek, St. Casimir School: Winn-Dixie, from the book, "Because of Winn-Dixie" by Kate DiCamillo
Educator: Christy Markovich, Lincoln School kindergarten teacher: Trouper, from the book, "Trouper" by Meg Kearney
Adult: Mary Hogan, Hammond resident: The Ram, from the Holy Bible Book of Genesis, Chapter 22
Senior Adult: Margaret Kowalski, Hammond resident: Tuesday, from the book, "Until Tuesday: A Wounded Warrior and the Golden Retriever Who Saved Him" by former Capt. Luis Carlos Montalvan with Bret Witter.
Hammond Reads also presented the Face of Literacy Award to Nancy Machnikowski of Hammond, who retired last year from School City of Hammond. Machnikowski, a past present of Hammond Reads, also served as its Book Distribution Committee chair, coordinating book ordering and distribution. She also spearheaded The Dictionary Project, in which the Rotary Club of Hammond and Hammond Reads partner to present a dictionary to each third grade student at a Hammond school.
Hammond Reads, Inc. was established in 2002. Its mission is to Build a City of Readers. More information is on the organization's website, www.hammondreads.com or on its Facebook page.
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