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Congratulations to Elementary School Backyard Superheroes!06-16-16 | Association News

Congratulations to Elementary School
Backyard Superheroes!
Ali Tomlinson and Kashvi Ramani Win Annual OPEI Contest

OPEI, which represents the interests of the outdoor power equipment, utility vehicle, and small engine manufacturing industries, announced the winners of the 2016 "Be a Backyard Superhero" contest for elementary school students. Angelina Luspo of Scholastic presented Ali Tomlinson and Rebecca Johnson, principal of Playa Vista Elementary School with their $5,000 grant check. In Virginia, Casey Mindlin of Scholastic presented the check to Kashvi Ramani with the help of Kris Kiser, president and CEO of OPEI and Lucky the TurfMutt.

The winners of the annual "Be a Backyard Superhero" contest, put on by the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute, were recently awarded $5,000 grants to improve the green spaces at their schools.

The annual contest is part of the TurfMutt environmental stewardship and education program, in which students learn how to take care of green spaces through the teachings of the cartoonized TurfMutt character and his friends the Outdoor Powers. Scholastic hosted the contest, which received 790 entries this year.

The K-2 grand prize winner is Ali Tomlinson of Playa Vista, Calif., and the 3-5 grand prize winner is Kashvi Ramani of Ashburn, Va. Tomlinson's entry, "Teamwork Makes The Dream Work," is a story about how TurfMutt and the Outdoor Powers saved a neighborhood. Ramani wrote an original rap song called "Outdoor Saviors."

Fifty runners-up in each grade level will each receive a book from Scholastic.

For more information on the TurfMutt environmental stewardship and education program, visit TurfMutt.com.

For more information on the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute, visit OPEI.org.

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