PORT ANGELES — A bicycle poster created by a Port Angeles fifth-grader has advanced to a national contest — and needs Internet votes to win the top prize.
A poster by Ruby Harris, who attends Dry Creek Elementary, won first place in the Washington state portion of the Fifth Grade National Poster Contest.
Ruby has advanced to the national competition — and needs votes on a Facebook contest page to win prizes for herself and her school.
Votes will be accepted until 2 p.m. Tuesday at www.facebook.com/SarisCycleRacks.
Posters are not marked with entrants’ names, but Ruby’s poster is No. 16 in the Fifth Grade Poster Contest folder.
Another Port Angeles student, Jordyn Ebalo of Franklin Elementary School, won the state’s second prize.
Jordyn took home a helmet, a bike light and a bell.
The state’s third-place winner was a student at Little Mountain Elementary School in Mount Vernon.
The contest — sponsored by Saris Cycling Group, a manufacturer of bicycle racks and cycling training products — asked students to create a poster that answers the question, “Why do you think bikes make life better?”
Ruby’s entry features a bike leaning up against a tree on a windy autumn day, with butterflies, birds and woodland creatures enjoying the outdoors.
The winner of the national contest will receive a three-day/two-night trip for two to Washington, D.C., during the 2014 National Bike Summit, including airfare and lodging.
‘The Hub System’
As the state winner, Ruby received a Schwinn bicycle, a Lazer Sport helmet, a bike light from Planet Bike and an “I Bike WA” bike bell from the Bicycle Alliance of Washington.
If Ruby’s poster is selected as the national winner, Dry Creek Elementary School will receive bike parking for 20 bikes and “The Hub System” — an active transportation tracking system that can help the school implement a walking and biking incentive program.
When registered riders arrive at school or work, they simply scan “cards” by an electronic tracker to have their trips recorded.
The tracker transmits the data securely to a website that tabulates each rider’s trips, which calculates commuting statistics for each person, classroom or the entire school.
Entries are on display at the Bicycle Alliance of Washington office, 314 First Ave. S. in Seattle.
The public is invited to visit the display during the May Bike to School Month to vote for a People’s Choice Award. Votes will be taken at the office through May 31.
________
Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
