Published: November 16, 2015 at 4:06 p.m.

KINGSPORT, Tenn. – Three Kingsport City Schools students were recently named winners in an essay contest established by The Hero In You Foundation. Winning authors were Mather Konkol from Mrs. Autumn Stacy’s classroom at Abraham Lincoln Elementary School, Macy Peters from Ms. Heather Hobbs’ classroom at Andrew Johnson Elementary School, and Madison Cox, from Mrs. Suzanne Lewis’ classroom at John Adams Elementary School.

Mather is a 4th grade student and the son of Stephen and Michelle McMurray. Macy is the daughter of Laura Peters and the granddaughter of Vanessa Hansen, and she is in the 5th grade. Madison is in 1st grade and is the daughter of Michael and Tiffany Cox.

The Hero In You Foundation is dedicated to honoring the heroes in our lives and inspiring kids to want to be a hero in their own life. The foundation, Bunni and Rick Benaron and in partnership with the Kingsport Office of Cultural Arts, Kingsport Fire Department, and Kingsport City Schools, established this essay contest based on R. Hero and in memory of Buster Watts, an avid Kingsport community volunteer. In these essays, students in grades K-5 were encouraged to write an essay based on R. Hero, describing who and why they are inspired by their hero. 

The foundation provided $750 in scholarships, to students and elementary classrooms who wrote the best description of a person who is a hero to them. A selection of work will be exhibited in The Gallery at City Hall and/or the Atrium Gallery at the Renaissance Arts Center. The three (3) winning essays were selected by the Kingsport Fire Department.

Winning essays received an award for the student and the classroom - students received a $50 VISA check card and the students’ teachers received a VISA check card for $200 for use in the classroom.

Photos and the winning student essays can be found on the district’s Facebook photo album, The Hero In You Foundation: 2015 R. Hero Essay Contest Winners.

For more information on The Hero In You Foundation go to http://www.r-hero.org/the-hero-in-you-foundation.html.

Kingsport City Schools (KCS) is a public school district located in Kingsport, Tenn., serving students in Sullivan and Hawkins counties. The district is comprised of 13 schools, including a Pre-K, eight elementary schools, two middle schools, one high school and a non-traditional school; with total enrollment over 7,100 students. The vision of Kingsport City Schools is to be, Student Focused … World Class.

KCS has been named the top school district in Tennessee as winner of the 2014 SCORE Prize District Award by the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) and has earned the 2014 Achievement Award in the annual Excellence in Tennessee Recognition Program by the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence (TNPCE).

For more information on KCS, visit k12k.com, listen live on WCSK 90.3 FM, The Voice of KCS, read our blog, We Are KCS, or call (423) 378.2100. We’re social too; follow us on Facebook (Kingsport City Schools), Twitter (@KCS_District) and check out our YouTube Channel (KPTSchools).

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