Palm Beach County Office of Equal Opportunity Hosts Annual Fair Housing Poster Contest Awards Ceremony

The students show off their winning masterpieces. Pictured are (from l to r) Shaquille Bussey, Christine Schergen, Madison Ackerman, Chelsea Tomsik and Kathryn Hoffman.

Shaquille Bussey proudly pointed to his brightly colored poster on display at the April 26th Annual Fair Housing Reception hosted by the Palm Beach County Office of Equal Opportunity.

The County teamed up with the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches to organize a poster contest where 14 students from area schools were asked to create posters with the theme, “There’s No Place Like Home.” Several schools participated.

Bussey, 8, a third-grader at Acreage Pines Elementary, won first place for his poster which depicted three houses with sunglasses, along with the slogan, “It’s Cool to Own a Home.” Five other kids received awards, including Madison Ackerman of Acreage Pines Elementary, Kathryn Hoffman of Lantana Middle School, Christine Schergen of Acreage Pines Elementary, Chelsea Tomsik of Lantana Middle and Breanne Miller of Western Pines Middle.

First place winners received $250.00; second place winners received $100 and third place winners $50.

Tracey Dobrie, Marketing Director for the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches, thanked the students for their participation and said the competition instilled in children the importance of owning a home.

“We are educating tomorrow’s leaders on the right to fair housing,” she said.

Shaquille Bussey, 8, a third grader at Acreage Pines Elementary poses with his winning poster.	Madison Ackerman, 9, a third grader at Acreage Pines Elementary, smiles as she receives her prize money. She placed third in the competion.