Southeast Michigan Students Win National “Be Money Wise” Poster Contest Two Bloomfield Hills Students Honored Nationally, Celebrated at Home Farmington Hills, Mich., April 21, 2008 – As Money Smart week kicks off in Michigan, GreenPath, Inc. — a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s Money Smart Week Advisory Council — is pleased to announce that two Southeast Michigan students are already wiser and richer for their knowledge and understanding about the importance of money management. Additionally, they are also celebrated local role models.
Harrison Noh of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., an eighth-grader at East Hills Middle School, is the 2008 overall, national winner of an annual financial literacy poster contest sponsored by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC). Christopher Saker, also of Bloomfield Hills and a fifth grade student at Way Elementary School, won in the contest’s elementary school category. Each student’s hard work, creativity and understanding of financial responsibility are recognized by GreenPath and the NFCC with a plaque, recognition in the U.S. House of Representatives and a combination of cash and savings bonds. Local celebrations sponsored by GreenPath will continue throughout April, national Financial Literacy month.
“GreenPath celebrates these young men’s achievements because of their talent and hard work as well as their ability to serve as role models for their peers,” said Jane McNamara, president and CEO of GreenPath Debt Solutions. “It is clear that Harrison and Christopher have a solid foundation upon which they can build their financial futures. We hope their attitude will rub off on others.”
Noh’s winning entry featured hand-drawn dollar bills visually presented to represent the idea of a three dimensional portrait of a boy putting pennies in a piggy bank. Saker’s picture was a highly detailed drawing of a dollar bill decorated with visual tips for future financial success.
As part of the celebrations surrounding Noh’s significant national win, Noh and his family were introduced at the Jump$tart Coalition annual awards dinner in Washington, D.C. They were joined in Washington by NFCC representatives and GreenPath’s CEO, Jane McNamara, where they also met with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and visited Capitol Hill to meet with members of Congress.
The “Be Money Wise” poster contest is designed to engage students in thinking about how to manage money by allowing them to express themselves through art. The theme of this year's competition was "Financial Responsibility Begins with Me,” and nearly 1,500 posters were submitted through NFCC-member credit counseling agencies around the country.
Other Michigan winners included Angela Fowler of Kalkaska and David Ruggles of Traverse City. Each was recognized by GreenPath with a prize of $100 and a classroom pizza party. More information and photographs are available at www.greenpath.com/postercontest.