Carwise Students Win Big: Take Home 6 of 7 Awards

"What will Palm Harbor look like in the future?"

For a group of local kids, Palm Harbor will be an eco-friendly community where people ride bikes, drive flying cars, eat meals served by robotic waitresses, and visit the hometown chocolate factory.

These are just some of the scenarios students mentioned during a school essay contest sponsored by the Council of North County Neighborhoods (CNCN) and the Palm Harbor Historical Society.

The goal of the contest was to encourage Palm Harbor students to build a sense of involvement in their community.

Seven students took home awards and cash for their creative efforts. Six of those kids attend Carwise Middle School. The competition was tough, organizers say they received about 150 essays.

CNCN Vice President, Ron Schultz says some of the cool themes he saw while reading the essays, was that in the future, people still appreciated each other and had a love for Palm Harbor.

"Bottom line, great ideas from future leaders of this area, I'm glad they love it like I do," he said.

CNCN awarded 1st place prizes to two students, Zarin Hamid from Palm Harbor University High, and Lauren Manganiello from Carwise Middle School. Both girls took home checks for $300.

The five other students who were honored also attend Carwise. They include-

2nd place winner, Valentina D'Farnesio ($150 prize)

3rd place winner Frances Garcia ($75 prize)

4th place winner Megan Goodell ($25 prize)

Honorable Mention winner Amanda Tannenbaum ($25 prize)

Honorable Mention winner Christine Miller ($25 prize)

All of the winners read their essays in front of the audience and received a special award certificate in addition to their prize check.

Florida Rep. Peter Nehr, R-Palm Harbor helped hand out awards to the students and later updated the audience about the 2011 Florida Legislative Session.

This is the second year that CNCN held the essay contest. Students who live in Palm Harbor's East Lake communities participated in the first contest.