The Whitesboro Parks and Recreation Department (PARD) hosted its 17th annual Shauney P. Lucas Community Art Show on March 7-9 at the Jimmie O. Rector Community Center. The show began Friday evening with the Artists’ Reception, where Viewers’ Choice Award winners were announced. The reception was co-hosted by the GFWC History Club of Whitesboro.
“The ladies of this organization add so much to this event by hosting the reception. We are so fortunate to have them as co-sponsor for the art show. They are great hosts for the entire weekend,” Renfroe said.
“We enjoyed the largest visitor turnout ever for our reception on Friday evening. It is always inspiring to hear artists’ stories, their histories and learn about their creative process. It’s meaningful to the artists to see that people notice and appreciate their work.”
Visitors at the reception on Friday evening were invited to vote for the Viewers’ Choice Awards in various mediums for children, youth and adult divisions. They cast their ballots for favorites in drawing, painting, photography, 3D and multimedia categories for different age groups.
Ribbons were placed on the winning pieces and displayed for the remainder of the show, and winning artists were awarded plaques.
Winners are as follows:
Adult Painting: Coast to Coast by Rob Jordan
Adult Drawing: The Word Made Flesh by Garrett Thurman
Adult Photography: Sunset Drop by Alesha Holt
Adult 3D: Pure Petals by Esmeralda Sanchez
Adult Multimedia: Sisters by Jack Harris
Honorable Mentions: Alesha Holt, Juliet Dimmock, Ceil Snoddy
Youth Painting: Bass Haven by Wyatt Toftee
Youth Drawing: Rooster by Presley Lawson
Youth Photography: Stonehenge by Jacob Hughes
Youth 3D/Multimedia: Car by Alyssa Gentry
Honorable Mentions: Jacob Meals, Keylee K., Jancsi West, Ashley Rodriquez
Children Ages 3 to 7 Years: Sunglasses by Ella Head
Honorable Mention: Timberly Ellis
Children Ages 8 to 10 Years: Beautiful Chaos by Charlotte Reed
Honorable Mention: Jacob Stafford
The show continued on Saturday and Sunday with an opportunity for the public to view the display.
“This year’s show was wonderful,” PARD Director Penny Renfroe said. “We had a total of 323 pieces of art from 171 different artists ranging in age from 3 to 80 years. The number of pieces was three entries less from last year’s 326. The total number of visitors to the show was 260, down slightly from last year’s total visitor count of 299.
“We are so inspired! This is one of the largest shows in terms of displayed pieces and number of artists. We appreciate each local artist that submitted his/her work for the community to enjoy. Our small community is blessed to have many talented members and we enjoy displaying their work. We are already looking forward to the 2026 show and making plans.”
Begun in 2008, the art show was renamed in 2011 for Shauney Lucas, a PARD employee and local artist who was killed in an automobile accident in 2010.
“Having organized the first Community Art Show with Shauney, it’s such a fitting way to remember her and to continue to be inspired by her life and her talent,” Renfroe said.
If anyone has an idea for a community special event, call the PARD office at 903.564.5964. For more information about PARD activities, visit the website at www.whitesborotexas.com/pard.