2019 Bookmark Art Contest Ceremony Acknowledges 43 Students

CONROE, TX – Forty-three local K-8 students, representing 70 schools throughout the county, were recognized and awarded cash prizes in a packed courtroom of teachers, school principals, parents and excited siblings.

The Dispute Resolution Center of Montgomery County received 2033 bookmark art entries and utilized thirty nine judges from 19 different organizations to select the 43 winning bookmarks. The winning bookmarks were selected based on creativity and message of resolving disputes peacefully and/or “Saying No to Bullies.” In front of a standing room only crowd at Montgomery County Commissioners Court, the winning student artists and their teachers were honored on October 25 for their hard work and positive messaging to combat bullying.

Judge Kathleen Hamilton, 359th Judicial District Court, presented the cash awards to all the winning students with a sense of humor and a word about Superheroes. “Every time you do something right, you put on the superhero cape”.

In order to honor the young Super Hero winners, volunteers donned Super Hero capes in a variety of colors as they greeted the winning students, their families and teachers. A large Spiderman poster adhered to the front prize table stated, “With great power comes great responsibility”. Andrea Diaz, a first prizewinner in the 7th grade at Peet Jr. High, seemed to have learned this lesson well as her bookmark noted, “Never look down on someone unless you are helping them up” and showed a young girl extending a hand down to another young girl seated on the ground who was being bullied.

Patricia Chapman, President of the Montgomery County Bar Association (MCBA), shared how and why the DRC-MC was started. “After seeing a need for free or low-cost dispute resolution services in Montgomery County, the Dispute Resolution Center of Montgomery County, Inc. (DRC-MC) was started in 1988 by a committee of the Montgomery County Bar Association in conjunction with the Montgomery County Commissioners’ court. The MCBA is proud to be a book sponsor for the DRC-MC’s 2019 Conflict Resolution Day Bookmark Art Contest which promotes anti-bullying in Montgomery County schools.”

Because of the MCBA’s generosity, teachers and counselors who encouraged the students to enter the contest received an anti-bullying book that was being donated to their school in their honor.

Marianna Monagas-Wohlfahrt, 10, a fifth grader attending Mitchell Intermediate School, was thrilled to show off her bookmark art with its strong anti-bullying message. “Being a bully is not acting coolly. It is wrong to bully”.

The 2019 winning bookmarks will be displayed at the Montgomery County Memorial Central Library for the next 30 days and some of the winning bookmarks will be reproduced, laminated and distributed throughout Montgomery County schools and libraries. These bookmarks help remind students across Montgomery County to utilize peaceful means to resolve disputes and say no to bullies.

At the beginning of the Awards Ceremony, everyone in the courtroom took the Conflict Resolution Pledge, led by Darcy Thompson with the Association for Conflict Resolution. The attendees all promised to use conflict resolution skills to resolve conflicts, encourage others to resolve conflicts peacefully, and to support the use of conflict resolution skills to create a happier and safer environment for all.

Elaine Roberts, Executive Director of the DRC-MC, introduced Senator Brandon Creighton, who co-authored David’s law at the state level. Senator Creighton shared that 1 in 4 students are bullied and David’s Law requires schools to inform parents of a student-bullying incident within 3 days.

David's Law was enacted to protect Texas children from cyberbullying. It provides for schools to collaborate with law enforcement when serious or life-threatening cyberbullying situations arise. Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 179, also known as David's Law, into effect in 2017.

“I plan on sharing this event among the senators that helped to pass David’s Law”, said Senator Creighton. The bill is named after 16-year-old David Molak, a high school student, who died by suicide after being harassed through cyberbullying.

Sir John Olivarri, with the Arabia Shriners, Houston, who recently participated in the Monster Truck Show in Conroe, spoke after Senator Creighton about their #CutTheBull Campaign advocating for bullies to stand down. The Shriners are collaborating with schools, teachers, parents and the victims of childhood bullying in order to insure that students with disabilities are not bullied once they leave Shriners’ Hospital and return to school.

The list of winners from the 2019 Annual Conflict Resolution Day Bookmark Contest can be found www.resolution-center.org/bookmark.

Harper Grace Hebert, a 7-year old second grade winner from Lone Star Elementary, said it all, “Be kind, Be Respectful. Just BEE YOU! Do what is right.” Harper’s artwork cleverly displayed bees flying all over to relay her message of peace.

The Dispute Resolution Center of Montgomery County, Inc. (DRC-MC) is in Downtown Conroe at 301 N. Thompson Street, Suite 106, across the street from the Courthouse. It is celebrating 31 years of “helping people with difficult conversations” so that they can resolve their conflicts peacefully, quickly and confidentially.

Find out more about the Dispute Resolution Center of Montgomery County, Inc. by visiting www.resolution-center.org. or their Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/MontgomeryCountyDRC. You can also call (936) 760-6914, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday for additional information.