Starkville Town and Country Garden Club awarded Sian Lee, a fifth grader at Overstreet Elementary School, a first-place award from the Garden Clubs of Mississippi, Inc. for her 2024 Smokey Bear Poster Contest entry.

Sian Lee entered the 2024 Smokey Bear Poster Contest last fall at Henderson Ward Stewart Elementary School. The contest was dedicated to Smokey Bear’s 80th birthday, and children from first through fifth grade were invited to participate in the annual drawing contest featuring Smokey Bear.

“I live with my mom and cat in Starkville,” 10-year-old Lee said. “I enjoy art, especially sketching and drawing characters. I love to read and often draw characters from books. My goal is to be the best I can be. When I grow up, I want to be either a veterinarian or an art teacher. I love animals, and they are one of my favorite subjects to draw.”

There were three first-place winners from the state of Mississippi, and all three winners were entered into the National Garden Club’s Smokey Bear Poster Competition.

Smokey Bear originally appeared in 1944 and has become nationally and internationally recognized as the symbol for wildfire prevention.

Smokey Bear instructs children and adults to be careful with campfires, barbecues, burning yard waste, and matches, and his iconic message, “only you can prevent wildfires,” encourages personal responsibility for wildfire prevention.

Bryn Taylor, co-chair of the Starkville Town and Country Garden Club Education and Young Gardeners Committee, said the poster contest will begin again this fall with both Smokey Bear and Woodsy Owl Poster Contests. Taylor said she expects numerous students to enter because of the tremendous support April Wallace, the art teacher at Henderson Ward Stewart, gives to the event.

The Starkville Town and Country Garden Club strives to improve the knowledge of its members through monthly educational programs, regional workshops, and the sharing of information and resources among club members and the community.