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NAHMA National Poster Contest Winners Amplify Voices for Love

Jamaica Johnson, a 12th-grader from Pittsburgh, Penn., has been named the grand prizewinner in NAHMA's annual AHMA Drug-Free Kids poster and art contest.

NAHMA National Poster Contest Winners Amplify Voices for Love

Jamaica Johnson, a 12th-grader from Pittsburgh, Penn., has been named the grand prizewinner in NAHMA's annual AHMA Drug-Free Kids poster and art contest. The talented artist's creation will appear on the cover of NAHMA's 2021 calendar. Jamaica, 17, also receives an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., for a future NAHMA Biannual Top Issues in Affordable Housing conference, as well as a scholarship of $2,500 from the NAHMA Educational Foundation.

The poster contest is open to children and senior residents 55 years or older who live in a community of a NAHMA or a local Affordable Housing Management Association (AHMA) member company, as well as residents with special needs who live in a permanent supportive housing community or Section 811 community of a NAHMA or a local AHMA member company.

The underlying message for the annual contest is always a drug-free theme but NAHMA wanted to open the door for more avenues of expression, so a subtheme is incorporated into the poster contest. The subtheme for 2020 is My Voice Will Be Heard: Speaking the Language of Love.

Nearly 5,000 eligible residents participated in the nationwide contest.

Each national winner of the NAHMA contest—regardless of entry category—receives a $1,000 educational scholarship from the NAHMA Educational Foundation. All winners are also featured as their own month in the 2021 calendar.

Additionally, participants in the annual art contests held by the local AHMAs are eligible to be selected as Regional AHMA Art Contest Honorable Mentions. Those selected for this distinction will have their artwork featured in a special section of the NAHMA 2021 Drug-Free Kids calendar and receive a $100 scholarship. These participants are in addition to those selected as national winners.

The original winning grand prize artwork will be auctioned at the Educational Foundation's virtual gala, Oct. 26, with the proceeds supporting the foundation's scholarship program.

For the contest, the artwork is divided into categories with winners selected from each of the following: kindergarten-first grade, second-third grades, fourth-sixth grades, seventh-ninth grades, 10th-12th grades, and seniors and residents with special needs. Only students are eligible for the grand prize.

Calendars go on sale beginning in September. The cost of the calendar is $5.50, which is a Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Department of Agriculture allowable project expense.

The following lists this year's national program winners, with their ages at time of submission, grade completed in June 2020, contest category, the community where they live, the management company and name of the AHMA that submitted their artwork:

GRAND PRIZEWINNER

• Jamaica Johnson, 17; 12th grade; Crawford Square Apartments, Pittsburgh, Penn.; McCormack Baron Management; PAHMA

NATIONAL WINNERS

• Patricia A. Funk, 63; Special needs; Rockwood Village Apartments, Rockwood, Tenn.; The Benchmark Group; SAHMA

• Ravnoor K. Heyer, 6; Kindergarten; Los Robles Apartments, Union City, Calif.; EAH Inc.; AHMA-NCH

• Simran K. Heyer, 10; Fourth grade; Los Robles Apartments, Union City, Calif.; EAH Inc.; AHMA-NCH

• Hassan Jaweed, 14; Eighth grade; Los Robles Apartments, Union City, Calif.; EAH Inc.; AHMA-NCH

• Marc Anthony Lambert, 67; Senior; Hillcrest Elderly Apartments, Cincinnati, Ohio; The Benchmark Group; MAHMA

• Olga McGehee, 68; Senior; AHEPA 310 VIII Senior Apartments, Irvington, Ala.; AHEPA Management Company; SAHMA

• Jeuel Merritt, 14; Ninth grade; Rowan Towers, Trenton, N.J.; The Michaels Organization; JAHMA

• Alexondra Miller, 17; 12th grade; Oakland Place Apartments, Greer, S.C.; Westminster Company; SAHMA

• Diego Salcido, 11; Sixth grade; Strathern Park Apartments, Sun Valley, Calif.; Thomas Safran & Associates; AHMA-PSW

• Bette Shapiro, 75; Senior; Ocean Park Villas, Santa Monica, Calif.; G&K Management; AHMA-PSW

• Alice Valdillez, 15; Eighth grade; West End Baptist Manor Apartments, San Antonio, Texas; McDougal Companies; SWAHMA

• Aubree Jae Valdillez, 7; First grade; West End Baptist Manor Apartments, San Antonio, Texas; McDougal Companies; SWAHMA

• Cheng Thom Vang, 9; Third grade; Stanley Square Apartments, Stanley, N.C.; Westminster Company; SAHMA

HONORABLE MENTIONS

• Asiyah Alston, 12; Sixth grade; West Popular Apartments, Philadelphia, Penn.; The Michaels Organization; PennDel AHMA

• Hadia Gehafari, 9; Third grade; Treesdale Apartments, Charlottesville, Va.; Park Properties Management Company; Mid-Atlantic AHMA

• Jean Mistretta, 77; Senior; Linwood Mill Apartments, Whitinsville, Mass.; Peabody Properties; NEAHMA


About NAHMA

NAHMA is the leading voice for affordable housing management, advocating on behalf of multifamily property managers and owners whose mission is to provide quality affordable housing. NAHMA supports legislative and regulatory policy that promotes the development and preservation of decent and safe affordable housing, is a vital resource for technical education and information and fosters strategic relations between government and industry. NAHMA's membership represents 75% of the affordable housing industry, and includes its most distinguished multifamily owners and management companies. Visit www.nahma.org for more information.

About the NAHMA Educational Foundation

The NAHMA Educational Foundation is organized and operated exclusively as a Section 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Founded in October 1994, the NAHMA Educational Foundation works to assist residents of federally subsidized housing as they strive to enhance their lives, job opportunities and children's futures. Its mission is also to enhance the livability and standing of communities managed by NAHMA member companies nationwide. For more information, visit www.nahma.org/about/educational-foundation.

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