HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL — Hillsborough County Tax Collector Nancy C. Millan has announced the winners of the Kids Tag Art Program for the 2022-2023 school year.

This year’s top honorees are Aaliyah Greene-Walker from Dunbar Elementary School, who received the Sponsor’s Choice Award, and Kaitlyn Pace from McDonald Elementary School, who received the Tax Collector’s Choice Award.

Both Aaliyah and Kaitlyn were recognized for their exceptional creativity and artistic skill.

The Kids Art Program is a creative fundraiser that allows students to showcase their artistic abilities by designing front license vanity plates in art class. The plate designs are then printed on metal plates and sold to family, friends and the public. Proceeds from the plate sales and sponsorships go back to the participating schools to help support their arts programs.

This year’s Kids Tag Art Program raised more than $37,800 so far with 43 Hillsborough County schools participating in the program, submitting over 1,000 plate designs.

In total, the Kids Tag Art Program across the state of Florida has raised more than $2 million dollars to date since its inception in Polk County over 16 years ago.

“I am very proud of our Kids Tag Art Program and the support we are able to provide to school art programs. We were thrilled to present these two talented young artists with the top honors for this year’s Kids Tag Art Program,” said Millan. “Their artwork not only showcases their impressive talent but also promotes the importance of arts education in our schools.”

Suncoast Credit Union was the presenting sponsor for this year’s event.

“We are proud to support the Kids Tag Art Program again this year and its mission to promote arts education in our schools,” said Kourtney Berry, executive director of Foundation and Youth Outreach for Suncoast Credit Union. “We believe that art education is essential for the development of well-rounded students, and we are honored to recognize these outstanding young artists.”

Other sponsors for this year’s event were Derrick Brooks Charities, PDQ, Florida West Coast Credit Union, Wild Architecture and Peggy Land.

Millan visited the two winning students at their schools in April and recognized them at the Hillsborough County School Board meeting in May.

The judges for this year’s contest were Tampa Mayor Jane Castor; Hillsborough County School Board Chairwoman Nadia Combs; Berry; and Division Director of the Hillsborough County Arts Council Martine Collier.

The winners at each school for this year’s Kids Tag Art Program were:

• Baycrest: Marquis Smith
• Bellamy: Mikeyla Alvarez
• Bevis: Layla Kazbour
• Bing: Ahmad Ai Khayyat
• Broward: Aaliya White
• BT Washington: Destiny Johnson
• Cannella: Andrea Pinto
• Clair Mel: Laylanie Jones
• Cleveland: Andrea Rosales Rivera
• Davis: Eilanny Garabito
• Dickenson: Samanda Diaz Mendez
• Dunbar: Aaliyah Greene-Walker
• Egypt Lake: Lauryn McCoy
• Fishhawk Creek: Emily Sanchez
• Foster: Cristina Zelaya
• Gibsonton: Jacob Nieto
• Hammond: Mackenzie Aufmann
• Kingswood: Madison Odell
• Lake Magdalene: Liani DeJesus
• Lanier: Kinsley Orr
• Lithia Springs: Harper Jacquin
• Lockhart: Kathlyn Augustin
• Lopez: Mia Diaz Ramierez
• McDonald: Kaitlyn Pace
• Miles: Maria Moreno-Aguirre
• Morgan Woods: Genesis Pena
• Muller: Ada Edwards
• Nelson: Loreen Tumen
• Oak Park: Nitavia Graham
• Robinson: Matthew Ortiz
• Ruskin: Hazel Michelend
• Seffner: Diego Limon-Salazar
• Springhead: Kenza Benchick
• Summerfield: Pearl Sperry
• Tampa Heights: Jordan Gill
• Tampa Bay Boulevard: Mia Pitts
• Thompson: James Bulmer
• Thonotosassa: Camila Mayorga Zuniga
• Town ‘n’ Country: Melanie Alvarez
• Walden Lake: Brynley St. Onge
• Wimauma: Jazlyn Heredia
• Woodbridge: Aleigha Morales
• Yates: Arianna Mina

For more information about the Kids Tag Art Program, visit the Hillsborough County Tax Collector’s Office’s website. To see all the tag winners, click here.

See story from Patch here.