Omnitrans Announces Poetry in Motion Contest Winners
Second Annual Student Poetry Contest Honors Everyday Heroes

Twelve students from area schools were named winners in the second annual Student Poets in Motion Contest.  Students from schools all over San Bernardino County wrote poems dedicated to the people in their lives who inspired them.

     “Instead of writing about comic book characters or television actors, these students wrote about the everyday heroes in their lives” said Chief Executive Officer/General Manager Durand L. Rall.  “They wrote about what matters most to them – family.”

     Judging was done for the second year in a row by the San Bernardino City of Readers program.  Contestants were asked to write a poem, in 10 lines or less,  describing an inspirational, non-fictional person in their lives.  Poems were judged by the author’s use of creative language, imagery and rhyme.     Many students wrote about family members they looked up to, with current events providing a powerful emotional canvas. 
     ”He went to Iraq for the people,” wrote Constantino Acevedo, whose succinctly titled poem “Juan”, written about the heroics of his Uncle,  was awarded Best in Show for the Elementary school division.  This is the second year in a row that Constantino has placed in the Omntirans student poetry contest.  In 2006 Constantino won a Merit Award for his poem honoring Rosa Parks.

Other entries described the ideal hero.  “My hero is anyone who can stand up for what they think is right,” said Ivan Torres, Best in Show winner from the High School division.

Three Best In Show winners from Elementary, Middle and High School grade levels were chosen: 
Constantino Acevedo, Moreno Elementary
Kyle Melton, Bloomington Christian School, Bloomington
Ivan Torres, A.B. Miller High School, Fontana

Nine Merit Award winners also were chosen from the three grade categories: Kristina Jubala, Barton School, San Bernardino; Pooja Kaur, Barton School, San Bernardino; Jessica Romo, A.B. Miller High School, Fontana; Ruby Grajeda, A.B. Miller High School, Fontana;  Daniel Burch, Alta Loma High School, Alta Loma; Kyle Fryer, Serrano Middle School, Highland; Nicole Ellis, Del Vallejo Middle School, San Bernardino; Mayra Vasquez, Del Vallejo Middle School, San Bernardino; Daramis Arambula, Del Vallejo Middle School, San Bernardino.

Best in Show Winners will have their poems displayed inside all Omnitrans buses during May and June.  The Poets in Motion Contest was sponsored by Omnitrans, The Sun, the San Bernardino City of Readers, Bakers and Gameworks of Ontario.

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Founded in 1976, Omnitrans is the public transit agency serving fifteen cities and the unincorporated areas of the Inland Valley of San Bernardino County in Southern California. Omnitrans currently operates 32 fixed bus routes in a
480-square-mile area. Omnitrans also provides OmniLink and Access
demand-response service, and is a partner in the Inland Empire Connection express bus service. The American Public Transportation Association has named Omnitrans the Outstanding Transit System of its size in both 1995
and 1999. Omnitrans also has received twelve safety awards from the
National Safety Council.