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Fifth graders honored for their design talents at the Kids Tag Art ceremony

Jan. 31, 2023

More than 150 Pinellas students were recognized for creating front license plate designs through the Kids Tag Art Program.

The program is a partnership between the school district, the Pinellas County Tax Collector’s Office and generous community sponsors. 

The ceremony took place at Largo High School. More than 400 students, teachers and parents attended the event, which was also live-streamed. 

The Kids Tag Art Program gives 5th-grade students the opportunity to become real-world designers in their art classes. Since the program was launched in 2015, Kids Tag Art has raised more than $280,000 for elementary art programs.

“Although the main purpose of the program is to raise money for local elementary art classrooms, this event is my favorite part of the program,” said Pinellas County Tax Collector Charles W. Thomas. “It is truly rewarding to see the excitement on the students’ faces! It’s wonderful to be able to celebrate these students and their achievements.”

The Tax Collector Choice Award, the highest award of the program, is personally selected by Thomas. This year’s winner was Lilyanna Gonzalez from Plumb Elementary.

“Selecting a winner is never easy because there are so many amazing creations. However, I ended up selecting Lilyanna’s frog design because, not only does it remind me of the tree frogs we see here in Pinellas, but it’s obvious she spent a lot of time on this due to the attention to detail and all the great shading work.”

Each year, Mr. Thomas personally orders his winner’s tag to be placed on the front of his vehicle for a year.

Tax Collector Choice Award winner Lilyanna Gonzalez from Plumb Elementary  

Program sponsors also selected student winners, either by choosing a favorite from the Award of Excellence designs or by submitting a fun theme.

Congratulations to the Sponsor Choice Award winners:

Student winners

  • Daniella Trauscht, Westgate Elementary – Tag Agency of Pinellas Sponsor Choice Award
  • Madison Wheaton, Gulf Beaches Elementary – MicroLumen Sponsor Choice Award
  • Makenna Buchans, Seminole Elementary – FL Heart Research Foundation Sponsor Choice Award
  • Sunnie Randolph, Starkey Elementary – DPrint Sponsor Choice Award
  • Tess Meyer, Ridgecrest Elementary – City of Largo Sponsor Choice Award
  • Adrian Bueno, Safety Harbor Elementary – Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Sponsor Choice Award
  • Daniel Mihalinec, Anona Elementary – Office Worx Sponsor Choice Award
  • Daniel Nguyen, Brooker Creek Elementary – Lauren’s Kids Sponsor Choice Award
  • Cali Cole, Bear Creek Elementary – Grant St. Group Sponsor Choice Award

Teacher winners:

  • Lauren Regan, Plumb Elementary – 1st Place Teacher Contest Winner
  • Shannon Livingston, Brooker Creek Elementary – 2nd Place Teacher Contest Winner
  • Lauren Moon, Sawgrass Lake Elementary – 3rd Place Teacher Contest Winner