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Stamp of approval
By JACKIE RIPLEY, Times Staff Writer CITRUS PARK -- Jake Zimmerman is only 10. But he already knows what he wants to be when he grows up. "I want to be a painter for backdrops for the movies," said the Citrus Park Elementary fifth-grader, who recently won first place in a countywide art contest sponsored by the U.S. Postal Service. The design-a-stamp contest, which included 1,200 students from 28 schools in grades 1-6, was prompted by the tragedies of Sept. 11, said Jake's mother, Cathy Zimmerman. The post office "wanted to get the kids thinking about our country," she said. They "had to have a flag in the picture and then anything else." In Jake's case, the "anything else" was an American eagle. "I wanted to put in something that symbolized America," Jake said. "I thought an eagle would do that. It's our country's bird." Apparently postal officials thought so, too, awarding Jake first place in the contest and a framed plaque of his illustration. Zimmerman said Jake was "a little disappointed" to learn his picture would not become an actual postage stamp. But, she said, the Tampa postmaster "did a really nice thing for Jake, and the second- and third-place winners by having their pictures matted and framed." Winning art contests is nothing new to Jake, who has studied art since the second grade. "I thought I was going to win because I've won lots of contests in the past," he said. His mother, however, said this is the first time Jake has won a contest that was this competitive. Jake, who lives in Citrus Park's Eaglebrook neighborhood, said his classmates were thrilled to learn he had won. "They were really happy," Jake said. "When my principal announced on the intercom my class started to cheer."
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From the Times |
