Riverside Public Utilities honors two students as winners of 18th Annual Bottled Water Label Art Contest

The Riverside Public Utilities (RPU) recently presented two students with top honors for their entries to the 18^th Annual Bottled Water Label Art Contest. The contest seeks to recognize high school art students with the opportunity to create their first piece of commercial artwork.

The artwork chosen as each year’s top entries are used to adorn bottled water given to the junior high and high schools in Riverside for RPU’s annual “Splash Into Cash” fundraising and support opportunity.  The schools can use the donated bottled water to support volunteers at school events, activities groups and to raise funds for sports teams, uniforms and other school fundraisers and activities.

Sofia Goebel, a senior at John W. North High School and Kristin Counts, who graduated from La Sierra High School in June, were honored at RPU’s October board meeting for their winning entries.  Both students received $250, an enlargement of their label artwork, and a case of bottled water featuring their customized labels.  Goebel’s art teacher, Vonn Rosser, and Counts’ former art instructor, Bill Miller, were also honored with gift certificates to a local art supply store and enlargements of their students’ label artwork.

On hand for the presentation to the students were RPU Assistant General Manager Kevin Milligan and RPU Board of Public Utilities officers including Chair Dave Austin, Vice Chair Justin Scott-Coe and board members on Ron Cole, Kevin Foust, Jennifer O’Farrell and David Crohn.

Since 1999, more than 542,300 bottles have been distributed to Riverside schools through the Splash Into Cash program, each featuring the unique designs created by the city’s high school artists. This year’s winning entries, as well winning label artwork from the past 16 years, can be viewed online at: www.RiversidePublicUtilities.com/Art.