Students, teachers, parents, grandparents and many others from across Massachusetts packed Faneuil Hall in Boston on Friday for the much-anticipated Awards Ceremony and Presentation for the 2009 Keough Earth Artists Program. For the 37th consecutive year, the Earth Artists Program challenges students in kindergarten through sixth grade to focus on the earth and the environment through artwork or poetry. This year's special focus was on how our environmental problems should be addressed, with special attention to conserving energy.
The event organizers were kind enough to extend an invitation for me to speak with the students on-hand, and I had a blast with the kids! I tried to keep the camera rolling for as much as possible - from welcoming words for the students, to the terrific performances the kids had practiced (singing AND choreography!), to a video presentation of some of the posters and poems that were submitted. The event culminated with an Awards Presentation for the top work, as determined by a judging panel with the EPA.
On NECN, I'll show the video of the packed hall cheering loudly...and for a very good reason. That cheer was part of a deal we made together. I promised to show their energy, enthusiasm, creativity and dedication to working together to make the world a better place, as long as everyone in the room promised to carry those same qualities with them from this point forward, always dedicated to working together. As you can see by the cheer...they were willing to make the promise!
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