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April 8, 2008
Naperville, IL — Today Nicor announced the winners of Energy by Design: A Visual Arts Contest for Students. Nicor, in partnership with the National Energy Foundation (NEF), developed this innovative contest and is proud to celebrate its third successful year with students winning more than $7,000 in savings bonds and prizes. The contest was designed to bring students, teachers, and families together to become more aware of how to use energy efficiently and how to communicate an energy efficiency message.
Participation in this year's Energy by Design contest rose from 26 to 31 communities compared to last year. "Receiving more than 900 worthy entries from schools located throughout the northern third of Illinois is quite remarkable and continues our motivation to expand the program. Along with the increase in participation, the quality of the entries seems to improve each year as well, making the judging of winners more difficult and exciting," said Margi Schiemann, Director of Community Relations for Nicor Gas.
The Energy by Design contest is aligned with Nicor's focus on programs that promote higher education as well as the company's other educational initiatives. Nicor has been providing energy-related teaching materials to schools for the past 14 years. Energy by Design was developed by Nicor and the National Energy Foundation to enhance the free natural gas instructional materials program. " Energy by Design provides students with an opportunity to learn about energy efficiency and use their creativity to communicate an effective conservation message," said Schiemann.
To enter the contest, young students were challenged to create a poster that would teach others how to be energy efficient. Contest materials encouraged students to think about how they use energy and what they can do to promote and communicate energy efficiency. Students were also asked to write a reflection about the most important lesson they learned while creating their poster on energy efficiency.
Entries were divided into three age-appropriate categories: grades K-2, 3-5, and 6-8. In each grade category there are four winners – Grand Prize, First Place Finalist, Second Place Finalist, and Third Place Finalist. There is also an award category for teachers whose student wins the grand prize. Prizes will be distributed at the winners' schools on various dates in April (TBA). Parents and school administrators will attend many of these events and all contest participants will receive a certificate of recognition.
All the winning entries are posted on the contest Web site at EnergybyDesign.org. The prizes will be awarded to students and teachers at individual award ceremonies.
Grand prize winners in each category won a:
- $1,000 U.S. savings bond
- Pizza party for their classrooms
- Prize pack filled with fun, age-appropriate prizes
- Congratulatory plaque (which may be displayed at the winners' schools)
The top three finalists in each category won a:
- $250 U.S. savings bond
- Pizza party for their classrooms
- Prize pack filled with fun, age-appropriate prizes.
- Congratulatory plaque (which may be displayed at the winners' schools)
Three teachers have won $1,000 classroom grants. The winning teachers were determined based on the student who won the grand prize in each category.
The winners are as follows:
| Prize |
First Name |
School |
Town |
| Grade K-2 |
| Grand Prize |
Christopher |
Ridge Elementary |
Plainfield |
| 1st Place Finalist |
Madelyn |
Ridge Elementary |
Plainfield |
| 2nd Place Finalist |
Jenna |
Ridge Elementary |
Plainfield |
| 3rd Place Finalist |
Adam |
Ridge Elementary |
Plainfield |
| Grade 3-5 |
| Grand Prize |
Jill |
Prairieland Elementary |
Normal |
| 1st Place Finalist |
Faisal |
Parkview Elementary |
Morton Grove |
| 2nd Place Finalist |
Vincent |
Parkview Elementary |
Morton Grove |
| 3rd Place Finalist |
Alexandra |
Parkview Elementary |
Morton Grove |
| Grade 6-8 |
| Grand Prize |
Allison |
Jefferson Junior High School |
Naperville |
| 1st Place Finalist |
Francesca |
Minooka Junior High School |
Minooka |
| 2nd Place Finalist |
Grace |
Kennedy Junior High School |
Lisle |
| 3rd Place Finalist |
Rebekah |
Monroe Middle School |
Wheaton |
| Teachers |
| Classroom Grant |
Mrs. Lewis |
Ridge Elementary |
Plainfield |
| Classroom Grant |
Mrs. Diederich |
Prairieland Elementary |
Normal |
| Classroom Grant |
Mrs. Riordan |
Jefferson Junior High School |
Naperville |
Nicor Inc. (NYSE: GAS) is a holding company and is a member of the Standard and Poor's 500 Index. Its principal businesses are Nicor Gas, one of the nation's largest natural gas distribution companies, and Tropical Shipping, a containerized shipping business serving the Caribbean region and the Bahamas. In addition, the company also owns and has an equity interest in several energy-related businesses. For more information, visit the Nicor Web site at www.nicor.com. | 
