Spirit Lake Student Wins 3rd Place in CBI Poster Contest

Lydia Bruinsma, 3rd Grade, attending Spirit Lake Elementary has won 3rd Place in Community Bankers of Iowa’s (CBI) annual poster contest.  As the 3rd Place Prize winner, Lydia received a $300 Certificate of Deposit.  Lydia’s poster was submitted for judging by Northwest Bank headquartered in Spencer, Iowa.  This marks the 8th year in a row that Northwest Bank has submitted a prize-winning or honorable-mention poster.

CBI has hosted their poster contest since 1999 as part of Financial Literacy Month celebrated each year in April. To enter the poster contest, elementary students in 2nd through 6th grades submitted designs answering the question: “Why is it important to know about money?”  The state-wide poster contest is sponsored at the local level by participating community banks, who submit the contest entries they receive to CBI for final judging.  All poster submissions were evaluated based on overall message, creativity and workmanship.  Lydia and the other two finalists were selected from over 1,000 other poster entries received from schools throughout Iowa.

“Lydia’s poster design did an excellent job of explaining why financial literacy is a critical component of our communities.”, said Krissy Lee, CBI’s Communications Director and Administrator of the CBI Education Foundation. “Her design demonstrated that she understands the uses of financial products overall and how this knowledge affects our daily lives. Financial literacy for all students is CBI’s mission, and what we hope they gain by entering the poster contest.”

Jed Jensen, Bank President of Northwest Bank in Spirit Lake shared, “As community bankers, we’re proud to play a part in educating our youth on the importance of financial literacy. It’s exciting to have a local student be recognized for her efforts in presenting why it’s important to know about money”.

The Grand Prize-winning student receives a $600 Certificate of Deposit, and 2nd and 3rd Place students each receive a $300 Certificate of Deposit.  Each year, 2-3 other posters are also awarded Honorable Mention certificates.  Lydia’s poster will be featured with the other contest winners in CBI newsletters and other communications, as well as in CBI social media and on their website, CBI Poster Contest-Start (cbiaonline.org).

Northwest Bank is a $2.9 billion community bank that offers a full line of business, agricultural, mortgage, consumer deposit and lending services as well as wealth management and insurance services. Northwest Bank has offices located in Afton, Algona, Ames, Ankeny, Arnolds Park, Creston, Estherville, Fort Dodge, Humboldt, Le Mars, Milford, Shenandoah, Sioux Center, Sioux City, Spencer, Spirit Lake, West Des Moines, Iowa and Omaha and La Vista, Nebraska.