Press Releases

Local Students Honored Through Art Contest Celebrating Living Life to the Fullest- Aurora Mental Health Center Presents Art Contest Awards as Part of Annual Community Celebration

Aurora, CO, October 25 – At this year’s Annual Celebration and Art Contest we received 207 pieces of art from 17 local schools. 13 students received top honors for their entries in the Living Life to the Fullest Art Contest, sponsored by Aurora Mental Health Center.
The awards were presented at the Aurora Mental Health Center’s 33rd Annual Celebration, a community event held to introduce the public to the non-profit community mental health center’s services, mission, and Board of Directors. The event took place on Wednesday, October 22 at the Summit Conference and Event Center in Aurora, Colorado.

“We had a record number of people attend our event this year due to the art contest,” said Dr. Randy Stith, Executive Director of Aurora Mental Health Center. “To see the students at the event so proud of their work and their accomplishments made the event that much better. Involving our community is what our annual celebration and organization as a whole is all about.”

Students from Aurora Public Schools, Cherry Creek Schools, and Aurora Mental Health Center submitted their best art piece based on the theme “Living Life to the Fullest–What makes you happy and love life?” All pieces were displayed and recognized at the annual celebration and the winning students in each category were awarded prizes.

Winning students include:
• Ages 5-7 1st place: Briseida Cisneros Castaneda 2nd place: Timothy Bright
• Ages 8-10 1st place: Jonathan Gonzalez 2nd place: Shannon Webb
• Ages 11-13 1st place: Juan Carlos Martinez 2nd place: Velrene Russell
• Ages 14-16 1st place: Nate Vargas 2nd place: Kalan Nelson
• Ages 17-19 1st place: Bobbi Larmer 2nd place: Hsuan Wang
• Director’s Choice Awards: Lourdes Olivia Gomez, age 15, Paige Ringer, age 7, and Sydney Bates, age 10.
Conducting the meeting was Larry Davila, president of the Aurora Mental Health Center Board of Directors, who emphasized the commitment Aurora Mental Health Center has on providing residents, businesses, schools, and churches with quality, effective, and accessible services.

In addition, a special presentation was held to recognize executive director, Dr. Randy Stith’s 30 years of achievements at Aurora Mental Health Center.