Keep Rutherford County Beautiful Media Contact: Jenna Bailey (713) 824-9173 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2021 RecycleBots Challenge Winners Announced
Rutherford County Third-Graders Treated to Chimney Rock State Park Family Passes
Rutherford County, NC - May 5, 2021: The votes have been tallied and recounted and the winners for the 2021 RecycleBots Challenge have been chosen! Keep Rutherford County Beautiful (KRCB) is thrilled to have a broad and creative field of over 80 entries from Rutherford County third-graders. It made for a tough but impressive judging process. Judges included Eco-Artist Natalya Khorover, Litter Committee Chair Jess Kerr, Mascots Roxi and Rocki Raccoon, and community partner Shelley Roberts. The winners of the ‘Fan Favorite’ category were selected by our Facebook community collecting hundreds of votes!
Three RecycleBots were selected as the Best-of-the-Best in six categories: Most Unique (good message, fun, unusual items), Best Use of Plastic and/or Styrofoam, Best Use of Paper and/or Textiles, Most Creative (good imagination or original ideas), Fan Favorite (based on Facebook votes), and Best Overall (Bot and Story).
Winners for Most Unique are:
3rd Place / Peyton Singleton with “Walle” at Trinity Christian School.
2nd Place / Sophie Hill with “Mittens the Cat” at Rutherfordton Elementary School.
1st Place / Max Ramirez with “Clyde” at Rutherfordton Elementary School.
What does “Clyde” do? He makes old things into new things. For example, he makes old plastic bottles into new plastic bottles. He absorbs recycling to make it easy for him.
What materials were used? Cardboard, fabric, tape, plastic bottles, mask, plastic bags, and newspaper.
Winners for Best Use of Plastic and/or Styrofoam are:
3rd Place / Adriana Henderson with “Sticks” at Pinnacle Elementary School.
2nd Place / Avianna Derisma with “Bot 6” at Forrest W. Hunt Elementary School.
1st Place / Gabriel Horne with “Wally” at Rutherfordton Elementary School.
What does “Wally” do? He takes trash out of the water so the animals don’t die and so you can reuse it. He will make a new robot.
What materials were used? Paint, metal, bottle holder, marker, and milk jug.
Winners for Best Use of Paper and/or Textiles are:
3rd Place / Ayden Strange with “Turtle-Bot (TB)” at Cliffside Elementary School.
2nd Place / Caraline Mast with “Cotton” at Pinnacle Elementary School.
1st Place / Alexis Bailey with “Lola the Robot” at Rutherfordton Elementary School.
What does “Lola the Robot” do? My RecycleBot stays on the side of the highway picking up cans and once in a while goes to a recycle plant to put the cans over and other things she found on the side of the road.
What materials were used? Cardboard, tape, fabric, and paint.
Winners for Most Creative (good imagination or original ideas) are:
3rd Place / Brielle Finnah with “Rylie the RecycleBot” at Rutherfordton Elementary School.
2nd Place / Kailee Melton with “Ronnie Melton" at Forrest W. Hunt Elementary School.
1st Place / LJ Wilkins with “Blakee” at Cliffside Elementary School.
What does “Blakee” do? Rides a skateboard and picks up trash.
What materials were used? Box, wood, wheels, tape, and foil dish.
Winners for Fan Favorite (based on Facebook votes) are:
3rd Place / Adrianna, Sebastian, Abbigail, Siana, Serenity with “Lucy F.” at Cliffside Elementary School.
2nd Place / Blakelei Olivia Owens with “Helper” at Trinity Christian School.
1st Place / Ridge Warlick with “Kaden” at Sunshine Elementary School.
What does “Kaden” do? Serves at recreation parks, events, ball games, and community events. “Kaden” serves children any refreshment they choose and puts a smile on all the kids faces.
What materials were used? Juice boxes, cereal boxes, paper towel rolls, clothes pins, candy, egg cartons, glue, and tape.
Winners for Best Overall (Bot and Story) are:
3rd Place / Ava Taylor with “Goldie” at Trinity Christian School.
2nd Place / Jaxton Gosnell with “Metal Head” at Cliffside Elementary School.
1st Place / Annsley Bumgarner with “Mr. Bot” at Sunshine Elementary School.
What does “Mr. Bot” do? Me and Mr. Bot go outside and recycle. Mr. Bot has eyes in the back of his head so he can watch to make sure everyone is recycling. He wants everyone to recycle to save the Earth. I gave him a brain so he can teach people how to recycle. I gave him arms so he can pick up trash.
What materials were used? Paper towel rolls, toilet paper rolls, milk jugs, and plastic containers.
Winners received family passes to Chimney Rock State Park, coupons for McDonald's Happy Meals and coupons for free ice cream from Scoop.
Every third-grader who submitted a RecycleBot in the challenge received a special RecycleBot sticker and a paper leaf seed packet to plant. We would like to acknowledge all the third-graders who entered the 2021 RecycleBot Challenge by listing them below by School & Teacher.
Cliffside Elementary
Mrs. Allen: AJ Walker, Brooklyn Reece, Dakoda Owens, Derek Seabrook, Jaxton Gosnell, Kailiyah Payne, LJ Wilkins, Timothy Colon.
Mrs. Mitchell: Aniyah Rollins, Ayden Strange, Caleb Potlow, Joshua Maya, Kearney Maxwell, Leah Potter, Miccah Shearer, Sebastian Childress, Zoey Cash.
Forrest W. Hunt Elementary
Mrs. Hill: Aniston Cox, Avianna Derisma, Kailee Melton, Kelsy Lester.
Pinnacle Elementary
Mrs. Hutchins: Channing Godfrey, Daisey Ehli, Gavin Parker, Harper Ormand, Jayden Twitty, Joseph Wilson, Lacey Nelon, Olivia Spangler, Rebecca Ogle.
Mrs. Summey: Adriana Henderson, Aiden Rodriguez, Austin Chapman, Braedyn Vaughn, Christopher Brewer, Cody Dixon, Gavin Jonas, Hardy Campbell, Jayme Jackson, Roczana Lopez, Sophia Jenson.
Rutherfordton Elementary
Mrs. Beattie: Abigail Esau, Akira Deviney, Alexis Bailey, Bentley Miller, Brielle Finnan, Camden McCurry, Charles Rogers, Gabriel Horne, Kaleah Evans, Lilia Steiner, Mackenzie Blanton, Mariah Harris, Peyton Lane, Ripley Meredith, Sydney Lohrmeyer, Troy Swafford.
Mrs. Millard: Aubree Dunk, Ezekyel Jackson, Kinsley Manis, Kristopher Tate, Masen McLaughlin, Max Ramirez, Sophie Hill.
Sunshine Elementary
Mrs. Hutchins: Annsley Bumgarner, Ridge Warlick.
Trinity Christian
Mrs. Crowe: Ava Taylor, Blakelei Owens, Braylie Jenkins, Chloe Erwood, Hadassah Snipes, Holden Roper, Huntley Hinnenkamp, Lacey Birch, Makenna Carpenter, Natalie Thompson, Nevaeh White, Olivia McEntyre, Peyton Merrill, Peyton Singleton, Savanah Willis.
A heartfelt thank you goes out to all involved. This would not be possible without the support of the KRCB Committee, the participation from our public & private school systems, their teachers, the students' parents, and the donations from our prize sponsors. To see all 83 submissions, head to the KRCB Facebook page. You can also find out about other initiatives in the county spearheaded by KRCB to make a cleaner, more sustainable future. To watch the announcement video, go to https://youtu.be/ZuVNh3olcJM.
Visit our website www.KeepRCNCBeautiful.org, our Facebook page @KeepRCNCBeautiful or email KeepRCNCBeautiful@RutherfordCountyNC.gov.
###
Logo - “RecycleBotLogo.jpg”
“BestOverall_AnnsleyBumgarner_SES.jpg” Caption: ‘Mr. Bot’ by Annsley Bumgarner at Sunshine Elementary took first place as the Best Overall RecycleBot
“BestPaperTextiles_AlexisBailey_RES.jpg” Caption: ‘Lola the Robot’ by Alexis Bailey at Rutherfordton Elementary took first place as the Best Use of Paper and/or Textiles RecycleBot
“BestPlastic_GabrielHorne_RES.jpg” Caption: ‘Wally’ by Gabriel Horne at Rutherfordton Elementary took first place as the Best Use of Plastic and/or Styrofoam RecycleBot
“FanFavorite_RidgeWarlick_SES.jpg” Caption: ‘Kayden’ by Ridge Warlick at Sunshine Elementary took first place as the Fans Favorite RecycleBot
“MostCreative_LJWilkins_CES.jpg” Caption: ‘Blakee’ by LJ Wilkins at Cliffside Elementary took first place as the Most Creative RecycleBot
“MostUnique_MaxRamirez_RES.jpg” Caption: ‘Clyde’ by Max Ramirez at Rutherfordton Elementary took first place as the Most Unique RecycleBot