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Fourth-graders Gear up for MY COUNTY Poster Contest

Release Date: March 10, 2016
Each county's Constitutional Officers, which include the County Clerk, Sheriff, and Surrogate, annually sponsor a poster contest for children called "My County."

Sussex County Fourth-graders Gear up for MY COUNTY Poster Contest

Not everyone is aware that county government in New Jersey is responsible for county road maintenance, jails, mortgage and deed recording, voting procedures, protection of the rights of minors, and much more.

To help promote awareness of the work that is done throughout New Jersey's 21 counties, each county's Constitutional Officers, which include the County Clerk, Sheriff, and Surrogate, annually sponsor a poster contest for children called "My County." Fourth-graders from all over the state, who generally study the State of New Jersey as part of their curriculum, are invited each year to create posters that depict the special and unique qualities of their respective county and how those qualities relate to the services provided by county government. Sussex County Clerk Jeff Parrott is in the process of sending letters to each of the county's elementary schools, inviting our fourth-grade students to participate in the annual My County Poster Contest. The County Clerk coordinates the effort with those fourth-grade teachers who choose to participate in the program. Many teachers encourage the students to create posters for the contest as an in-class project. Other students create their posters at home. Home-schooled children also are invited and encouraged to participate. Group entries are not accepted in this contest and only one entry per student is permitted.

Once submitted, the posters are reviewed by a panel of judges and winners are announced in late April. The first-, second-, and third-place winners will be visited at their schools by the county's constitutional officers and presented with award certificates and prizes. All participants receive a certificate for their participation. In addition, first, second, and third-place winners will have their winning posters displayed in the County Building during the Sussex County Farm & Horse Show/NJ State Fair at the Sussex County Fairgrounds in August. The County Clerk, Sheriff, and Surrogate encourage all of the county's fourth-grade students to participate in the event. The constitutional officers and judging panel are excited about this year's contest, which is sure to produce another crop of young and talented individuals who find new ways to transform once-blank poster sheets into wonderful works of art that so uniquely capture the essence of our county.

The guidelines for the poster contest are as follows:
Eligible participants: 4th grade students from Sussex County. The poster drawing must be entirely the work of the student. No tracings, stickers, or 3-dimensional objects glued onto the poster.
Poster size and paper type: 22" X 28" - White Poster Board
Format: SUSSEX COUNTY must appear in 4" black letters at top of poster.
Content: Poster should depict student's concept of what is unique about Sussex County and how this relates to county government.
Student Info: Student and teacher name, as well as the name of school (or home address and phone number if home-schooled), must be printed on the back of the poster, in bottom right corner.
Prizes: 1st Place awarded Kindle Fire; 2nd Place $50 gift card; 3rd Place $25 gift card. 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners also receive entry tickets to the 2016 NJ State Fair.
Deadline to submit entries: Friday, April 22, 2016 before 4 p.m.

Entries must be delivered to
Jeffrey M. Parrott, County Clerk
83 Spring St., Suite 304
Newton, NJ 07860

Anyone with questions on the My County poster contest can contact Wendy MacDonald at wmacdonald@sussexcountyclerk.org.