White, a seventh-grader at EMS, was among 40 other students at the school who submitted posters for the contest. Her poster was selected as the winner by members of the Lions Club of Elkins.

“Abigail’s poster will be sent to the district, and if she wins there she will move on to the international competition,” Lions Club of Elkins Treasurer Richard Humphrey told The Inter-Mountain.

“The competition was coordinated through the art instructor at Elkins Middle School, and we were extremely happy with the amount of posters there were for this year’s contest. There were a lot of good submissions, which made the judging really difficult.”

The Peace Poster contest is for students ages 11-13 years old and has been a Lions Club tradition for nearly four decades. The contest allows students the opportunity to share what peace means to them through art. The theme for the 2026-27 International Peace Post and Essay Contest is “Harmony in Humanity.”

Submitted photo Elkins Middle School seventh-grader Abigail White displays her poster that was chosen as the winner of the Lions Club of Elkins Peace Poster Contest.

White’s poster was among 600,000 submissions worldwide for the annual contest, that hands out a cash award of $5,000 to the grand prize winner, who will also be recognized at a special Lions Club International ceremony.

Last year’s grand prize poster winner was 13-year-old Shuwen Wang of China. For additional information about the Lions International Peace Poster Contest and media resources, visit www.lionsclubs.org/peaceposter.

The Lions Club of Elkins currently has close to 30 members and continues to be a strong supporter of area youth, according to Humphrey.

“We sponsor a Little League baseball team and recently just made a donation to the Interact Children’s Museum that is getting started and off the ground,” Humphrey said. “And there are some cases where we help supply eyeglasses for children if we find someone is in need. And there are several other organizations that are involved with youth activities that we donate to.”

Humphrey said the organization is always looking for new members to join. For anyone interested in joining the Lions Club of Elkins, visit the club’s Facebook page or call 304-704-5725.