Toledo: WGTE Public Media has announced the winners of the 15th Annual Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest. Over 200 children from the WGTE TV viewing area wrote and illustrated storybooks.
   
The Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest was open to children in kindergarten, first, second and third grades. Each grade level was judged separately by a panel of educators, and entries were judged on originality, creative expression, storytelling and integration of text and illustrations.
   
The 2009 roster of winners includes:
KINDERGARTEN
First Place:    Zachary Fogel, Findlay, OH
Second Place:    Kathryn Sterns, Petersburg, MI
Third Place:    Keaton Rath, Findlay, OH

FIRST GRADE
First Place:    Phoebe Jackson, Elmore, OH
Second Place:    Olivia Thomas, Perrysburg, OH
Third Place:    Alexis Sarvo, Swanton, OH

SECOND GRADE
First Place:    Olivia Hennessey, Edgerton, OH
Second Place:    Julia Schrameck, Toledo, OH
Third Place:    Elizabeth Ghareeb, Temperance, MI

THIRD GRADE
First Place:    Logan Kempf, Mount Cory, OH
Second Place:    Catherine Lowe, Luckey, OH
Third Place:    Owen Rath, Findlay, OH
   
WGTE Public Media will hold a celebration party at our studios on Saturday, June 13, 2009, honoring all of the winners and entrants of the 2009 contest. All entrants will receive a certificate of recognition signed by series host LeVar Burton. The first place winners in each grade level will be sent on to the national contest. National winners will be announced in June.

Editor’s Note: WGTE Public Media (The Public Broadcasting Foundation of Northwest Ohio) is a non-profit organization providing quality broadcasting and educational resources to Northwest and West Central Ohio and Southeast Michigan for more than 50 years.  WGTE Public Media operates WGTE TV, Toledo; WGTE FM 91.3, Toledo; WGLE FM 90.7, Lima; WGBE FM 90.9, Bryan; WGDE FM 91.9, Defiance; wgte.org; The Educational Resource Center; and The Early Learning and Outreach Center.