Meet Leah Ann Thomas and Carter Wuestenhoefer, this year’s winners of the 30th annual Sgt. Mike D’Ambrosio PAL Poster Contest, held May 16 at City Hall. The two will appear with Yonkers Police Det. Dale Hughes and Sgt. Patrick Curtis on this year’s Police Athletic League poster, which will be distributed and placed at hundreds of locations throughout the city.
The poster contest is one of Yonkers Rising’s favorite events to support and cover, because it underscores the need to create a relationship between young people and the police in Yonkers – and every community. The contest also gives the people of Yonkers an opportunity to see firsthand the girls and boys who participate, and the future leaders of the city.
After a week of rehearsals and preparations, the 10 finalists were ready to show how they learned to speak in public and gain confidence in interviews and answering questions, all before a large audience of friends and family in the City Council chambers.
Congratulations to all of the finalists, who were told by Mayor Mike Spano that “you are all winners.” We couldn’t agree more.
The 10 finalists were: Cerulean Acevedo of St. Ann’s School, Barbara Egiziaco of Hostos Micro Society School, Samantha Cruz of Scholastic Academy, Penelope Marte Aguilar of Scholastic Academy, Jasmin Rosales of Scholastic Academy, Lee Ann Thomas of Montessori School 31, Anthony Egiziaco of Hostos Micro Society School, Juan Flores of Scholastic Academy, Gerardo Maldonado of Scholastic Academy, Angel Morel of PS 16, Jack Tickell of Sacred Heart School, and Carter Wuestenhoefer of Casmir Pulaski School.
The finalists were interviewed by last year’s poster contest winners.
This year’s master of ceremonies was Steve Sansone, Parks and Recreation deputy commissioner, who did a great job.
Then the winners were:
Lee Ann Thomas is 11 years old and in the sixth grade at Montessori School 31. Her favorite class is math, because “math is a cradle to all creation, and makes us orderly. If you really are into what you are doing in math, you know that your answer is 100 percent accurate,” she said
Lee Ann explained that she wants to be a doctor when she grows up. “I’ve seen a lot of less-fortunate people and I would like to help them and heal them and cure them,” she said. “The job of a doctor is to make you feel better.”
Outside of school, she said enjoys playing outside with her little sister (age 9), reading books and making new friends. “Social media is taking over everything, so it’s very important to go outside and play with friends,” said Lee Ann. “I like to meet new people and make new friends and get to know them better.”
If there was one character from a book that she could become, Lee Ann said that would be Dorothy from the “Wizard of OZ.”
“‘The Wizard of Oz’ is a classic and Dorothy was strong and I love her,” she said. “She didn’t know what was coming in her life. She was helping other people and I would like to be just like her.”
Lee Ann thanked her father for helping her win the poster contest. “He is the one who made me better and the whole reason why I’m here today,” she said. “He helped me to be myself and just say what I think is important.”
Carter Wuestenhoefer is 11 years old and a sixth-grader at Casmir Pulaski School. His favorite course is math. “I love numbers and equations and my teacher is great, Mr. Kreps,” he said.
Carter said he wants to be a professional baseball player when he grows up. He currently plays shortstop and pitcher for his Little League team in the Bryn Mawr league. His favorite player is Derek Jeter. “He was a big role model to me and a great person, as well as a great player,” said Carter who is a Yankees fan.
In addition to baseball, Carter enjoys playing basketball and football, and plays on a PAL basketball team. A coach from PAL recommended that he enter the poster contest, and Carter took the advice and won.
One character from a book that Carter would like to be is Greg Heffley from the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” book series. “He’s funny and goes on adventures and I love going on adventures with my friends, as well,” he said.
Carter thanked his mom and dad, and his basketball coach, for helping him gain the confidence to enter and win the PAL Poster Contest.
The PAL Poster contest is named after Sgt. Michael D’Ambrosio, who was the driving force behind making the event into one of the most popular and positive events in the city.
