FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

South Georgia talent won the Alapaha River Water Trail Logo Contest

Alapaha, Georgia, March 16th 2015 — South Georgia’s got talent! Winners from Tift County High School and Lanier County High School got cash and other prizes for their logo submissions at the Alapaha River Water Trail conference Saturday.

Maya Turner with her First Place logo in Logo Winners, by Deanna Mericle, 14 March 2015

• First Place winner, Maya Turner, senior at Tift County High School, took home $100 and two admission tickets to Wild Adventures Theme Park, Valdosta for her winning logo design in the WWALS Watershed Coalition’s Alapaha River Water Trail logo contest on Saturday March 14, 2015 at the Gaskins Forest Education Center near Alapaha Georgia.

  
  First place Maya Turner

• Second Place winner, Taarna Jones, senior at Lanier County High school received $50 and a $50 gift card to Camping World Retail Store, Lake Park Georgia, and a Browning Buck cap from Jasper Hardware, Jasper, Florida.

  
  Second place Taarna Jones

• Third Place winner, Glenda Velasquez from Tift County High School, who was unable to attend the event, won $50 and a Browning Buck cap.

  
  Third place Glenda Velasquez

• Codi Sadler, senior from Lanier County High School won Honorable Mention for his entry and received a rugged military style backpack from Jasper Hardware.

  
  Honorable mention Codi Sadler

The winners: Honorable Mention Codi Sadler, Second Place Taarna Jones, First Place Maya Turner. Third Place Glenda Velasquez not pictured, plus ARWT Chair Chris Graham and logo contest coordinator Deanna Mericle

The top four winners were chosen from 21 entries and the judging was difficult because of the variety and creativity of the logo designs. South Georgia truly has talent! A big thank you goes out to all the participating students!

WWALS would like to thank teachers Sylvia Ragan, Lanier County HIgh School, and Meredith Osmus, Tift County High School for facilitating their students’ participation in the contest. And as the winning students discovered, it pays to participate!

Thank you also to our contest judges, John Fitton from Lakeland-Lanier Chamber of Commerce; Dennis Price from Hamilton County Tourism Council; Julie Bowland, Art Professor at Valdosta State University, and Christopher Graham, WWALS ARWT committee chair.

Many thanks to our generous contest sponsors that donated prizes for the winners. They include Wild Adventures Theme Park, Camping World Retail Store, Jasper Hardware, and WWALS members Dr. Bret Wagenhorst, Chris Mericle the Hometown Handyman, Dave Hetzel, and Garry Gentry.

The winning logo will be on informational brochures about the Alapaha River Water Trail. It will appear on the WWALS ARWT website, and it will be on information at kiosks that will be placed at access points along the Alapaha River. The brochures will be distributed at Welcome Stations, various tourist attractions, Chambers of commerce, etc.

About the Alapaha River Water Trail

The Alapaha River Water Trail (ARWT) runs 125 miles on the scenic 202-mile blackwater Alapaha River, from US 82 east of Alapaha, Georgia in Berrien County, through Atkinson, Lanier, Lowndes, Echols Counties, to the confluence of the Alapaha River with the Suwannee River in Hamilton County, Florida. It also includes many lakes, ponds, and swamps that are boatable year-round.

In June 2014, WWALS received a grant of $500 from Georgia River Network to print brochures, maps, and cards for this Water Trail. WWALS is grateful to acknowledge an additional $250 from the Hamilton County, Florida Tourist Development Council (TDC) and $500 from the Valdosta-Lowndes County Conference Center and Tourism Authority, as well as letters of support from the TDC, from the Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce, and from the Valdosta-Lowndes County Development Authority, plus a resolution by the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners. These ARWT sponsors are listed online and in a draft brochure that was distributed at the Conference.

The Alapaha River Water Trail will be recognized as an established water trail by Georgia River Network. It will help guide people who want to enjoy the natural beauty of the Alapaha River and outdoor activities such as kayaking, fishing, hiking, and camping, but who need more information to make their trip a success. The Water Trail information will include items such as a water trail map, access points, miles between access points, interesting features of the river, permitted camping areas, local outfitters, safe water levels, and safety and river etiquette tips.

Much of this material is already prototyped online at /maps/alapaha-water-trail/

About WWALS

WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc. is an IRS 501(c)(3) non-profit citizen advocacy organization working toward conservation of the Willacoochee, Withlacoochee, Alapaha, and Little River Systems watershed in south Georgia and north Florida.

Most WWALS events are free. All we ask is that you are a current member of WWALS Watershed Coalition. If not, it’s easy to join online today at /donations/.

Contact

Logo Contest Coordinator: Deanna Mericle, mericle.deanna@gmail.com

WWALS ARWT Committee Chair: Chris Graham, protectiongeorgiawatershed@gmail.com, 229-588-1392

WWALS President: John S. Quarterman, wwalswatershed@gmail.com, 229-242-0102

www.wwals.net

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