Rye YMCA Announces Winners of Heads Up! A Distracted Walking and Driving Poster Contest

High School Photographers to be Featured in Exhibit at Rye Free Reading Room

(Rye. December 19) Teens are getting the message: texting while walking or driving can lead to tragedy. As part of the Rye YMCA’s 4^th Annual Heads Up! Poster Contest, 74 Rye High School students have created posters that show the dangers of distraction. The winners, announced today, are:

1st Place (tie): Noe Abe and the team of Caroline Costa and Julia Mackey
2nd Place: Cayla Brown
3rd Place: Samuel Rukeyser

First place winners

In October 2014, the Rye Y, as part of its Safe Routes to School initiative, invited students in Nichole Chiffriller’s Photoshop and Digital Photography classes to participate in the Heads Up! contest. After all of the posters were completed, the students narrowed the field to 28 finalists, a process that led to thought-provoking discussion in the classroom about distracted walking and driving. The Rye Y then convened a panel of community judges who selected the three winners. The judges were:

Lucy Cassidy – Safe Routes to School Committee
Scott Craig – Lieutenant, Rye City Police Department
Robert Falk – Lieutenant, Rye City Police Department
Gregg Howells – Executive Director, Rye YMCA
Adam Levi – Senior Director & Art School, The Rye Arts Center
Christian Miller – Planner, City of Rye
Joseph Sack – Mayor, City of Rye
Charles Sutter, Planner – Westchester County Dept. of Public Works and Transportation

The Heads Up! poster contest is supported in part by United Way of Westchester and Putnam, in partnership with the PepsiCo Foundation, and the Rye Police Association.

All of the posters will be exhibited at the Rye Free Reading Room from January 9-31, 2015. Members of the community are invited to the Opening Reception and Awards Ceremony for the exhibit, which will be held on Wednesday, January 14 from 5:30 pm – 7 pm at The Rye Free Reading Room, 1061 Boston Post Road.

“These posters show that teens are leading the way in the effort to stop distracted driving and walking,” remarked Rye Y Executive Director Gregg Howells. “Their artwork communicates a powerful message that will hopefully influence their peers as well as the adults in their lives. The Rye Y and our Safe Routes to School community partners are grateful to Nichole Chiffriller for helping the students express such an important message in such a creative way. We’re also grateful to Maureen Gomez, a long-time Rye pedestrian safety advocate for her help with this year’s contest.”

For additional information, or to RSVP to the January 14 reception, contact Lisa Urban at lisaurban@ryeymca.org or 967-6363, ext. 152.