Coupeville Middle School student Tara Halterman is one step closer to becoming an internationally recognized artist by winning a local competition sponsored by the Coupeville Lions Club.

Halterman’s poster was among more than 400,000 entries submitted worldwide in the 30th annual Lions International Peace Poster Contest. Lions Clubs International is sponsoring the contest to emphasize the importance of world peace to young people everywhere.

“I was thinking about the world and about peace and love. So then I made my Peace Poster with all those symbols. But while I was drawing my picture I thought: Why isn’t the world peaceful?” Halterman said.

The poster was selected by the Coupeville Lions for its originality, artistic merit and portrayal of the contest theme, “The Future of Peace.” The judging was held earlier during the club’s general membership meeting.

Coupeville Lions Club President Dave Fish said he was impressed by the expression and creativity of the students at the Coupeville Boys and Girls Club. “It is obvious that these young people have strong ideas about what peace means to them. I’m so proud that we were able to provide them with the opportunity to share their visions,” he said in a press release.

Locally, Halterman and eight other students were honored for their participation at the Boys and Girls Club on Dec. 14 as a part of the Coupeville Boys and Girls Club’s “Cocoa and Carols” Annual Fine Art Show and Fundraiser Event. Halterman received an award of $50. Though the Peace Poster Contest is limited to students 11 to 13 years old, numerous entries submitted by younger artists were also judged to encourage future participation when they are older. In the under-11 category, gift certificates to the Honey Bear were presented to: Anabelle Armitage ($10 certificate), Sarah McCune and Sophia Silverly ($5 certificate). Awards were provided by the Coupeville Lions Club to recognize and encourage local participation.

View international grand prize and merit award winners at www.lionsclubs.org