The finalists of the Chautauqua Alcohol and Substance Abuse Council’s Alcohol Awareness Month poster contest stand in front of their award-winning posters at a ceremony Wednesday at the Prendergast Library in Jamestown. P-J photo by Eric Zavinski

“Be a thinker, not a drinker.”

That was the theme for the Chautauqua Alcohol and Substance Abuse Council’s Alcohol Awareness Month poster contest, in which hundreds of students from multiple schools participated.

Precisely 389 students entered the contest, and from that number 12 finalists were selected by a panel of Jamestown Community College art students. A grand prize winner and individual winners in each category were selected in a poster contest ceremony Wednesday at the Prendergast Library.

Ninth-grader Alexandria Davis from Falconer Central School was named the grand prize winner for her poster.

“It’s so surreal,” Davis said. “It’s such an honor to be able to represent such a good cause and to represent my school.”

Davis also cited it was a joy to be able to compete with so many other artistic students. These include the other finalists who were separated into categories based on their grade. Category A was composed of third-, fourth- and fifth-graders. Category B was composed of sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders, and Category C was composed of ninth-, 10th-, 11th- and 12th-graders.

Category C winners included: first place, 10th-grader Raylynn Digirolamo from Southwestern High School; second place, 10th-grader Mika Walters from Southwestern High School; and third place, 10th-grader Erika Russell from Falconer Central School.

Category B winners included: first place, sixth-grader Addison Brassard from Southwestern Middle School; second place, sixth-grader Joslyn Brown from Southwestern Middle School; third place, seventh-grader Britta Watkins from Maple Grove Jr./Sr. High School; and honorable mention, eighth-grader Zachary Stofko from Falconer Central School.

Category A winners included: first place, fourth-grader Madilyn Lent from Southwestern Elementary School; second place, fifth-grader Arehlyn Pattison from Panama Central School; third place, fifth-grader Peyton Oakes from Southwestern Elementary School; and honorable mention, fourth-grader Charlotte Caserta from Fredonia Elementary School.

Posters were judged on the criteria of originality, design, impact and implementation of the theme: “Be a thinker, not a drinker.”

State assemblyman Andrew Goodell spoke at the ceremony about the importance of this year’s theme and congratulated all the students for participating in a good cause. He also thanked them for providing posters to hang in the hallways of his legislative building.

“The great thing about the poster contest is that it involves over 400 children,” Goodell said.

The CASAC’s poster contest for alcohol awareness has been running for 17 years and continues to involve youth in the fight against underage and destructive drinking.