Cooperative Living July 2019 - 15

CoverStory | by Laura Emery, Field Editor
F
or 6-year-old Reese Mills, horses are the
" mane " attraction.
So when it came time to put paintbrush to
paper and come up with an entry for Cooperative
Living magazine's 2019 Youth Art contest,
Reese knew just what she wanted to paint.
For the 17th annual version of this contest,
students in kindergarten through fifth grade
were tasked with the challenge of portraying
visual interpretations of the theme, " Down
on the Farm. " The winning Best in Show entry
was chosen from hundreds of colorful entries
from students across Virginia.
Reese could relate to the contest's theme.
Her parents, Southside Electric Cooperative
members Matthew and Chandler Mills, own a 98-acre
poultry farm, Waterfall Farms, in Amelia County, where they've lived for the last three years.
" My husband and I both come from a long history of farmers, " Chandler explains. " We
raise chickens for Tyson as our main gig. However, making hay and raising pigs and sheep
is the part we love the most about this lifestyle. Our three children - Cole, Reese
and Holden - are learning how to raise their own food and about the virtues of hard
work, so it makes the farm lifestyle all worth it. "
When Chandler spotted the contest advertisement in Cooperative Living, she knew her
children had to enter. Reese and her 10-year-old brother, Cole, were both excited to enter
the contest. " Reese jumps at any opportunity to do an art project, " Chandler says.
Reese's brother wanted to paint a tractor, but Reese knew she was going to do a horse. " She loves horses so much, especially
black horses, " Chandler explains.
To help her daughter get her first strokes underway, Chandler says she did a rough outline of a horse on her own paper for her
daughter to see. Reese took it from there. " I never touched her picture at all. She did a phenomenal job, and her father and I were
very impressed, " she says.
In addition to riding horses in her spare time, the rising Amelia County Elementary School first grader also enjoys ballet and tap dancing.
" Our judges knew they had a Best in Show winner when they saw Reese's vibrant submission, " says Cooperative Living Editor
Bill Sherrod.
More than 250 student artists entered the annual competition, which was judged by staff at the Virginia, Maryland & Delaware
Association of Electric Cooperatives, publisher of Cooperative Living. " We're really proud of her, " says Chandler. " To have her work
selected out of all those entries is an honor. "
First place in each grade category received a $25 cash prize, and Reese's Best in Show work earned her a $100 prize. When asked
what she'll likely spend her prize money on, Reese is quick to answer: " I'm going to save it to buy a horse. "
" We started the Youth Art Contest to encourage youthful creativity and give kids a chance to show their art to the magazine's 1.25
million readers, " explains Sherrod. Everyone who judged the entries was impressed with the imagination and talent shown in the
students' work.
Sherrod adds, " To all of our contestants in the 2019 Youth Art Contest, thank you for your effort, your interest and your entries. We
say it each year, and we'll say it yet again now: In our eyes, you're all winners. "
A video about this year's winner, posted on the magazine's Facebook page in late June, can also be viewed at co-opliving.com.
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July 2019 | Cooperative Living | 13
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Cooperative Living July 2019

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