Emily Kent may not have been surprised as she was presented the $10,000 check for St.
James School, but the fourth-grader was thrilled. Although a news release said the 9-year-old had no idea she was the grand prize winner in Regions Charity Classic Poster Contest until it was announced at a school news conference Wednesday, she said that wasn’t entirely true. “Everyone tried to keep it a surprise from me, and they almost did, but after a while I figured it out,” she said. “I went into the library (before the news conference), and my art teacher … said ‘sit over here,’ and I saw the balloons that said Regions, and I started thinking ‘Oh my goodness, I think I know what this is about.’ Then I saw my mom, and she smiled, and I knew right then, and I was just so happy.” Emily wasn’t the big winner in the contest. Her school was, and she said that made it all the better. “I think the best part is getting the school the money and just being able to help everybody,” she said. “It’s big for me, but it’s big for the school because it’s a really big prize. It’s just amazing. “The fourth-graders all came in and all the teachers were excited and were giving me hugs and saying congratulations, and that they were proud of me, and the kids just came and hugged me and said ‘you are doing awesome Emily’ and told me how they were so excited for me.”
Melba Richardson, St. James’ head of school, was happy both for the $10,000 and for the validation that the school’s focus on the arts is paying off.