By Debbie Adams
The Town of Vinton celebrated its 22 nd year as a designated Tree City USA with an Arbor Day
Celebration at the Vinton Library on April 25. New this year was the addition of a Drawing
Contest for children ages 5-12 focused on the theme, “The Life Cycle of Evergreen Trees.” The
drawings were on display in the Municipal Building lobby for several weeks. Winners were
determined by votes from the community, online or in-person.
There were 54 entries in the contest; the children’s artwork was on also display at the ceremony
with the winning entries recognized by Town Manager Pete Peters and the presentation of prizes
to the participants.
Winners in Category 1 for ages 5-8 were:
- 1st Place: Raelynn McClure
- 2nd Place: Ashton Rivens
- 3rd Place: MacKenzie Preston
place (Category 1, ages 5-8) in the Arbor Day Drawing Contest. Town Manager Pete Peters
presented her award. Her art was titled “Happy Arbor Day, Plant a Tree.” (photo by Julie Tucei)
Winners in Category 2 for ages 9-12 were:
- 1st Place: Adah Gillenwater
- 2nd Place: Ayden Hash
- 3rd Place (a five-way tie), Noah Amos, Brisa Maldonado-Vasquez, Ayden Rivens,
Haleigh Stokes, and Kieran Wilhelm
First, second, and third place winners received certificates and art supplies from the Town of
Vinton. First place winners also were awarded $50 gift cards from Pok-E-Joe’s. The second
place winner in Category 1 received a gift card from Downhome Creamery ($20). The second
place winner in Category 2 received a gift card from Firehouse Skate ‘n Play ($30). Third place
winners received paintbrushes from Earthworks Pottery.
Many of the entries came from students at the Boys and Girls Club of Southwest Virginia site at
Vinton Baptist Church. Daphne Sargent directs the afterschool program.
created artwork for the first Arbor Day art contest. These are some of the winners with Smokey
Bear.
Vinton Town Council member Laurie Mullins hosted the standing-room-only Arbor Day event,
noting her love for trees as demonstrated by her Bachelor’s Degree in Horticulture from Virginia
Tech.
Vinton Associate Planner Nathan McClung told the crowd of children and their families that the
average tree takes about 20-30 years to mature– so the trees planted 22 years ago at Vinton’s first
Arbor Day have “all grown up.”
He shared two of his favorite quotes about trees, which illustrate the benefits of trees for
generations to come: “The best time to plant a tree was 30 years ago; the second-best time is
today” and “A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they will never sit.”
In his remarks, Vinton Mayor Brad Grose noted that the Vinton community, with their parks and
greenway trails, likes to emphasize trees and the great outdoors, especially since the town is
known as the “Dogwood Capital” of Virginia.
Vinton Senior Library Assistant for Youth Services Kennah Hebert kept the tree theme going
during a special story time, reading “We Are Branches” and “Thank You Tree,” which explains
what trees add to the world– flowers, syrup, branches to swing on, places to hide, holding birds’
nests, providing shade on hot days, acorns, and “joy.”
Senior Area Forester Denny McCarthy from the Department of Forestry also talked to the
audience about the benefits of trees including providing shade, ameliorating temperatures,
reducing the need for air conditioning, providing oxygen, preventing erosion and stormwater
run-off, cleaning the air, supplying a renewable source for paper, wood, fuel, and more. Trees
increase property values and beautify the community.
He also explained the significance of Arbor Day. In 1872, J. Sterling Morton proposed to the
Nebraska Board of Agriculture that a special day be set aside for the planting of trees; this
holiday, called Arbor Day, was first observed with the planting of more than a million trees in
Nebraska but is now observed throughout the nation and the world.
Smokey Bear had no comments to add, but was jovial throughout the event, which was
facilitated by Associate Planner Fayula Gordon and Planning and Zoning
Coordinator/Webmaster Julie Tucei.
