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By : Lillie-Beth Brinkman//The Journal Record//November 27, 2024//
On the Town: Burns family honors son with Seeds of Hope scholarship
By : Lillie-Beth Brinkman//The Journal Record//November 27, 2024//
John and Melanie Burns continue to find new ways to honor and celebrate their late son by planting “Seeds of Hope,” a new scholarship program through the Mitchell’s Shade organization they started in partnership with Scissortail Park.
The Burns founded Mitchell’s Shade as a way to honor the Burns’ son, John Mitchell Burns, who loved parks and died after an accident last year, as this column noted in September. Each year in April, the organization provides trees free of charge to the community.
Now, Mitchell’s Shade is launching Seeds of Hope as an art-based scholarship program and contest kicking off John Rex Charter School in downtown Oklahoma City. Winners selected from the third through eighth grades will win financial scholarships for education after high school and be eligible to apply for additional scholarships their senior year; younger entrants in kindergarten through second grades have a chance to receive a tree-growing kit for their schools.
Students must submit original artwork of a tree along with a creative writing essay about its significance by 10 a.m. Feb. 14.
“The art and essay can be about the participant’s love of trees, nature, or simply in honor of an important person or memory. We hope the roots we put down with Mitchell’s Shade and now with Seeds for Hope continue to connect us all to nature, to this city, and to each other,” Melanie Burns stated in a release.
Mitchell’s Shade will announce the winners in April, at its Tree Giveaway in Scissortail Park.
For details about the Seeds for Hope initiative and the specifications for entry, go to mitchellshade.com or to scissortailpark.org, under the Mitchell’s Shade/ Seeds for Hope tab.
Art on display
NBC Oklahoma’s latest commissioned work in its 20-year Artist Series is making the rounds through the community bank’s Oklahoma locations, and bank visitors are invited to see it in person and pick up a poster.
This year’s NBC Oklahoma Artist Series acrylic painting is “Wind and Clouds” by Brenda Kingery, who was raised in Oklahoma, is of Chickasaw Nation descent and studied art in Okinawa, Japan, and at the University of Oklahoma. She blends all of those influences into her contemporary paintings. She is also a founding member of Threads of Blessing International and has taught textile art and design to women in developing countries. The Chickasaw Nation honored her as Dynamic Woman of the Year in 2017; two years later, she was inducted into the tribe’s hall of fame.
“Wind and Clouds” explores the complex history of native people’s struggles, migrations and celebrations in a changing American landscape, a news release noted.
See it at NBC Oklahoma in Enid, 3202 W Owen K. Garriott, through Dec. 5; Kingfisher, 801 S Main, from Dec. 9 through 13; and in Oklahoma City at the two NBC locations at 6301 N Western, Dec. 16 through 20, and 13401 N Pennsylvania, from Dec. 23 through 31.
For information about the series and the work, go to nbc.bank/art.
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