Midland Valley senior wins design competition for veterans memorial

Charnisha Washington, a Midland Valley High School senior, didn't get seriously interested in art until her sophomore year.

Now she has designed a project that will become a permanent legacy.

Washington took first place among her classmates in a competition to create a design for a new monument that will go into the Midland Valley Horse Creek Veterans Park.

The memorial will provide a way to honor the Veterans Park committee members who have passed away, as well as recognizing others in the years to come, said Karen Jones, a committee member for the past 18 months. The first two honorees will be the late Jack Adkinson and Ralph Barber.

"We needed a way to recognize their service," Jones said. "A memorial seemed appropriate, and (committee member) Hector Rodriguez had the idea for a smaller park within the park for honoring these former members."

Shavonne Kolodizieizyck, the Midland Valley art teacher, said her students have done a couple of backgrounds at Jefferson Elementary School, "but nothing as permanent as this. We're very grateful they thought of us."

Tyler Gardner took second place and April Wynn finished third.

"I got interested in art as a way to express myself," said Washington. "I like drawing, especially landscape scenes. For this I just cleared my head and just drew it."

Her sketch design features an arch and has the words "United We Stand" and state and U.S. flags criss-crossing at the top. There is ample room for current and future committee members' names.

Washington's name will be included when the marble slab is built, Jones said.

"This was a very tough decision," she said. "The sketches were all high quality, and we were very impressed. It really came down to the one monument that would suit our needs."

Contact Rob Novit at rnovit@aikenstandard.com.