Rye Y Announces Winners of Distracted Walking & Driving Poster Contest

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

1st Place – Lara Martin

High School Photographers to be Featured in Exhibit at Local Venues

Teens are getting the message: texting while walking or driving can lead to tragedy. As part of the Rye YMCA’s 5^th Annual Heads Up! Poster Contest, 58 Rye High School students have created posters that show the dangers of distraction. The winners, announced today, are:

1st Place: Lara Martin
2nd Place: Crispian J. Thorne
3rd Place: Manon Veltman

High School Photographers to be Featured in Exhibit at Local Venues

In October 2015, the Rye Y, as part of its Safe Routes to School initiative, invited students in Nichole

2nd Place – Crispian Thorne

Chiffriller’s Photoshop and Digital Photography classes to participate in the Heads Up! contest. Ms. Chiffriller introduced the project by showing the students “From One Second to the Next,” a powerful documentary about people whose lives were shattered by texting and driving. After all of the posters were completed, the students narrowed the field to 15 finalists—five from each of the three classes. The Rye Y then convened a panel of community judges who selected the three winners. The judges were:

Scott Craig – 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
Nancy Pasquale – Member, Rye City Board of Education
Claire Simonelli, Senior V.P. of Resource Development, United Way of Westchester and Putnam

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

All of the posters will be exhibited at the Rye Arts Center from January 27- February 10, 2016.

3rd Place – Manon Veltman

After February 10, the exhibit will move to the Rye Free Reading Room, where it will remain until the end of the month.

“The judges were very impressed with the thoughtfulness and creativity that went into every poster,” remarked Rye Y Executive Director Gregg Howells. “Each one communicates the powerful message that distracted driving can have devastating consequences. We hope that parents, community residents and students will stop by The Rye Arts Center or the Rye Free Reading Room to view this important exhibit.”

For additional information, contact Margaret Mead at margaretmead@ryeymca.org or 967-6363, ext. 403.