The Lee County Tax Collector and the Foundation for Lee County Public Schools honored 78 School District of Lee County 5^th graders with Awards of Distinction for their designs in the Kids Tag Art program. The top two student designers from each participating elementary school were recognized at an awards ceremony at Fort Myers High School. The Honorable Noelle Branning, Lee County Tax Collector, and Marshall Bower, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation for Lee County Public Schools hosted the event.

Kids Tag Art is a fundraising program that inspires fifth grade students to design their own license plates fashioned after Florida’s 100 specialty plates. Students learn how these plates support deserving causes, like environmental protection, health initiatives and public education, and their designs are turned into tags that can be placed on the front of a vehicle.

In addition to the Awards of Distinction, four students earned accolades for their themed designs.

The Design Excellence Award given by the Foundation for Lee County Public Schools is presented to a student whose design best represents giving back to the community. The winner is Allan Reyes from Hancock Creek Elementary.

The Educational Excellence Award given by the School District of Lee County honors a student whose design best illustrates the power of education. The winner of this award is Manuella Garcia from Colonial Elementary.

The Suncoast Sunny Futures Award is presented by Suncoast Credit Union to the student whose creative expression best illustrates the idea of what a school of the future will look like. This award is presented to Gabriel DaSilva from Franklin Park Elementary.

The Tax Collector’s Choice Award is personally selected by the Tax Collector and presented to an Award of Distinction Winner who portrays the character of the Kids Tag Art Initiative. This year’s winner is Taylor Karth from Rayma C. Page Elementary.

“This program is so unique and allows students to express themselves through design while learning about art and commerce,” said Noelle Branning, Lee County Tax Collector. “We are so thrilled to honor them, and to donate dollars directly back to their deserving art teachers to fund programs at their schools.”

This year each participating art teacher received $500. Since 2016, the program has raised more than $189,000 for elementary art teachers to support their classrooms.

“We love this program because it embodies every part of our mission,“ said Marshall Bower, President and CEO of the Foundation for Lee County Public Schools. “It engages the community in public education through our great partners at the Tax Collector’s Office. It reinforces the pertinent role art plays in education and commerce, and it returns needed funding to art classes throughout the District. KTA is a win-win program!”

The patron sponsor for Kids Tag Art is Suncoast Credit Union. Other sponsors include The Community Foundation, First Horizon, Edison Bank/Bank of the Islands, Grant Street Group, Lee County Electric Co-Op (LCEC) and JP Morgan.

Below is a list of the 2023 Kids Tag Art Awards of Distinction Winners.