Bellview Elementary fifth grader Nadia McGrady received second place in the statewide If I Were Mayor contest. Here is her submission drawing. Image courtesy Oregon Mayors Association

Nadia McGrady proposed ideas such as a ‘screen-free week’ and a citywide talent show

If Bellview Elementary fifth-grader Nadia McGrady was mayor of Ashland, she knows just what she’d do, and for sharing some pretty cool plans, she’s garnered some statewide attention, too.

Nadia, who created a poster for the Oregon Mayor’s Association’s (OMA) “If I Were Mayor …” civic awareness contest, was recently recognized for placing second in the state for her grade in the competition, according to a League of Oregon Cities news release. Each year, students statewide compete in three age groups using different media, describing what it would mean if they were the mayor of their city, according to the release. Nadia’s poster earned a first place among local elementary schools, according to Ashland Mayor Tonya Graham, before her poster was entered into the statewide competition.

Nadia’s poster centered around three central themes: Mayor challenges, a children’s celebration and a town activity geared toward all ages.

“I would give the townspeople a challenge every month for them to try to do, like a nature challenge to plant a tree or other plant, or a screen-free week without electronics,” the poster reads.

McGrady drew colorful examples to help her audience visualize her mayoral plans.

“On Children’s Day, I would give kids something to look forward to, so I would organize fun activities like a bouncy house, a giant bubble machine, a chalk drawing area and a whole town talent show,” she added.

“To build community, I would have an event where the whole town could come to see a drive-in movie while eating snacks and see people from nearby neighborhoods.”

Graham plans to present Nadia with a $300 award from OMA, with a time and location to be determined.

“I think what really struck me the most (about Nadia’s poster) was just … a wide understanding of our community and really creative ideas for how we come together,” Graham said. “As the adults in our society at the moment, it’s critically important that we help our young people understand the system by which we govern ourselves, so that they are prepared to effectively participate when it’s their turn.”

Fourth and fifth grade students design posters while sixth through eighth grade students write essays and ninth through 12th grade students produce a short video.

The competition begins with a local contest conducted by city mayors. 

The local first-place winners are entered in the state-level competition in the spring, which is judged by members of the OMA Selection Committee. 

Twenty-eight cities participated in this year’s contest at the local level, with 54 entries being forwarded to the state-level competition.

Other second-place winners in the state competition were:

Essay – Sophia Han, eighth grader at Lake Oswego Junior High

Video – Justin Evers, 11th grader at Oregon City High School 

First-place prize winners in this year’s statewide contest, each receiving a check for $500, were:

Poster – Cara Miles, fourth grader at Forest Hills Elementary in Lake Oswego

Essay – Ashmi Larson, eighth grader at Memorial Middle School, in Albany

Video – Henry Hodgson, 11th grader, homeschooled in Chiloquin.

Third-place prize winners in the statewide contest, each receiving a check for $100 were:

Poster – Alice Wegner, fifth grader at North Albany Elementary;

Essay – Collin Vosler, sixth grader at Whitewater Middle School in Keizer; and

Video – Leila Stewart, ninth grader at Banks High School.

Entries may be viewed on the OMA web page at www.oregonmayors.org/special-programs/page/student-contest.

Founded in 1972, the Oregon Mayors Association is a voluntary association of persons who hold the office of mayor. The OMA is recognized as an affiliate organization in cooperation with the League of Oregon Cities. About 75% of Oregon’s mayors are active members of the OMA.

Email Ashland.news staff reporter Holly Dillemuth at hollyd@ashland.news. This story first appeared at Ashland.news.