See our America 250 insert inside today
To commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States, the Sampson Independent held a coloring contest in conjunction with its America 250 special section, which is inserted in today’s paper. A local home-schooler was announced the winner, and his artwork appears on the cover of the special section.
Participants were asked to color in a chosen design for the newspaper for the chance to win a T-shirt and a $25 gift card, as well as the honor of having the cover of one of the Independent’s special sections. After careful consideration, Caleb Bennett of Clinton was declared the winner.
“We were excited to award Caleb the first place award. His artwork was wonderful,” said Independent Publisher Sherry Matthews, adding that every single entry was an “amazing example” of student art.
She and editor Anthony Goodman selected the winning entry from over 100 coloring pieces entered through the Sampson County public libraries summer programs. Staff at all the library branches offered youngsters the opportunity to color the United States 250th seal and turn those in for review and official judging.
“I owe a big thank you to Kelsey Edwards, our county’s library director, for her enthusiasm and willingness to partner on this project,” Matthews said. “By utilizing our libraries, we were able to reach more kids from across the county. Our libraries are special places and we support them 100 percent, and appreciate their staffs being willing to assist us with this contest.”
Bennett, son of Rebekah Bennett of Clinton, is a home-schooled student whose entry design featured a strong representation of red, white, and blue, similar to the country’s colors. Whenever he’s not studying at home, he enjoys reading in his free time, along with riding bikes outside, painting, and drawing. His favorite book series is The Lord of the Rings.
“Red, white, and blue was necessary because it’s America,” Bennett attested, explaining his thought process behind the design. “But I was thinking usually, standing out is more important than doing extremely well, than just coloring. So I thought that a unique design would probably be the Declaration of Independence, so I decided to do that.”
When Bennett found out he won, it was a shocking moment.
“I was extremely surprised,” he said.
With the semiquincentennial coming up, Bennett was intrigued that the country has gotten that far in its age. When it comes to the Fourth of July, he loves fireworks.
“There was one year where my dad brought out several fireworks, and we shot them,” he described one of his favorite July Fourth memories, “That was a lot of fun.”
This year, Bennett’s looking forward to hanging out with his friends at his church, New Freedom Free Will Baptist Church in Turkey, participating in a trap shoot activity.
His mother teaches Caleb with his homeschooling. She shared a similar reaction as Caleb when she found out he was selected as the winner.
“We were surprised,” she said. “He was at campout with the Royal Rangers at our church when we found out. I called my husband Travis, and I told him. He was excited, and we’re so proud of him; this was so cool.”
Like all of her children, Rebekah was also homeschooled as a child growing up.
“It’s a lot of work, but anything is,” she said. “We’ve been grateful just for the opportunity that my oldest has been taking some classes at Sampson Community College for dual enrollment (Career and College Promise program). There are a lot of resources in the community that are a blessing. Mrs. Kelsey Edwards (library director at J.C. Holliday Memorial Library) does a homeschool program that we love. The Clinton area is a great place for something like that, and we’re very grateful.”