Last week, on a cold December morning, Gorham Savings Bank President & CEO Chris Emmons surprised Lydia Pinard of Gray-New Gloucester Middle School with the news that she won $1,000 for her class in the Anything Is Possible poster contest. Lydia was being recognized at a “Student of the Month” assembly, so it was the perfect opportunity to present the $1,000 award to Lydia amongst her peers. Lydia’s parents were also in attendance to surprise her (and to stand in the back of the room as extremely proud parents).

“I was totally surprised today and was so happy that I won the Anything is Possible contest,” said Lydia. “I already have some ideas on how my class can use the money – including ideas on some fun and educational field trips.”

Lydia has always been someone who dreams big and wants to give back. At the young age of 3, she decided that instead of birthday presents, she would like friends and family to donate to her local library. This has continued ever since and now even some of her friends participate.

“In the contest’s third year, we continue to be inspired by the dreams and ambitions of these young fifth graders,” said Chris Emmons, President and CEO of Gorham Savings Bank. “This program gives us an opportunity to see what students think is possible with hard work and dedication. We enjoyed surprising Lydia and her classmates today and are thrilled to be able help provide additional resources for Lydia’s classroom to expand their educational programs.”

The Anything Is Possible poster contest invited fifth graders from local schools to participate by creating a poster showing what is possible with hard work, dedication and imagination. Nearly 350 entries from 26 local schools were submitted, and a panel of judges chose one poster from each participating class to move on to public voting on the Bank’s website. Over 8,000 votes were cast by friends, family and community members, with Lydia’s poster receiving over 1,100 votes.

In addition to winning $1,000 for her class, Lydia’s poster is featured on drawstring bags, available at our branches while supplies last.