Jeff Wentworth
State Senator Dist. 25

It is time again for budding Texas artists in grades K-6 to sharpen their colored pencils, clean their watercolor brushes, dust off their crayons and start drawing their entries for the 12th annual “Treasures of the Texas Coast” children’s art contest.

The contest is part of the General Land Office’s Adopt-a-Beach Program. As a Texas senator, I am privileged to join Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson in announcing the annual art contest.

Entries are now being accepted for the 2008 competition, which is open to public, private and home-schooled students in grades K-6. Last year, more than 6,000 students entered the contest. Many of them were from Senate District 25, which has had previous contest winners from Austin, Boerne, Bulverde, Canyon Lake, New Braunfels and San Antonio. This year, I hope even more students from Senate District 25 will enter the contest.

Entering is both fun and educational. To ensure that their drawings accurately portray the contest’s slogan, “Trashing Texas Beaches Isn’t Cool,” students are encouraged to research ways in which the human factor contributes to the environmental challenges impacting the Texas coast.

Ten award winners will be chosen from each of four grade-level categories. The categories are: grades Kindergarten, one and two; grades three and four; grade five; and grade six. One grand prize winner will be chosen from the 40 winners.

The winners’ artwork will appear in the 2009 “Treasures of the Texas Coast” calendar, which will be distributed statewide. The prize winners’ drawings also will be displayed at the state capitol in Austin and on the General Land Office’s Adopt-A-Beach Web site: www.glo.state.tx.us/adopt-a-beach. Contest and entry forms are available on the Web site or at www.texasadoptabeach.org. To have entry forms mailed or faxed, call the Adopt-A-Beach Program’s toll-free number: (877) 892-6278.

Each entry must be postmarked by Monday, March 3. No late entries will be accepted.

Entries should be submitted on an 8-1/2-by-11-inch sheet of white paper and include the official Adopt-A-Beach slogan, “Trashing Texas Beaches Isn’t Cool.” A parental release/student pledge form must be completed, signed and taped to the back of the artwork.

In addition to the opportunity to showcase their artistic talents and learn more about the Texas coast, students will be vying for some fabulous prizes.

Two round-trip, coach class tickets from Continental Airlines to any Continental destination in the 48 contiguous United States will be awarded to the grand prize winner. In addition, the grand prize winner’s class will be treated to a party at Schlitterbahn Waterpark in New Braunfels, Galveston or South Padre Island. The grand prize winner’s teacher also will receive two round-trip, coach-class tickets from Continental Airlines.

All 40 finalists will receive a ticket to the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi, two all-day passes to Schlitterbahn, prizes from Keep Texas Beautiful, a certificate of recognition from Land Commissioner Patterson, and a 2009 calendar featuring the winning students’ art work.

I encourage students from Senate District 25 to use their talents to remind visitors to the coast that “Trashing Texas Beaches Isn’t Cool.”

Texas State Sen. Jeff Wentworth (R-San Antonio) represents District 25, which includes part of Bexar County. He can be reached via e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .