Winners of the Cooperative Living magazine’s 2015 Youth Art Contest were recently announced. For the 13th-annual version of this contest, students in kindergarten through fifth grade were invited to submit artwork illustrating the theme “My Favorite Vacation.”

More than 500 student artists entered the annual competition, which was judged by staff at the Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives, publisher of Cooperative Living.

First place in each grade category received a $25 cash prize and Alex Griffin’s “Best in Show” work earned him a $100 prize.

“We started the Youth Art Contest to encourage youthful creativity and give kids a chance to show their art to the magazine’s 1.25 million readers,” said Bill Sherrod, Cooperative Living’s editor.

“Everyone who judged the entries was impressed with both the quality and creativity of the students’ work.”

A local winner who received second place in the Second Grade category was Gabriel Leonard, of Farmville.

The contest was announced in the February and March/April issues of Cooperative Living and entries were due May 1.

The first-, second- and third-place entries for each grade are published in full color in the July issue of the magazine, which is available online at www.co-opliving.com.