Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Christmas cards rarely sport pictures of bones, but just such a design put one Portales fourth-grader at the top of the annual Roosevelt General Hospital Christmas card contest.
Tanya Gomez, a Valencia Elementary School student, won the contest to design a radiology-themed Christmas card for the hospital. Her design shows a man standing behind a screen that shows his X-ray.
“After receiving many pictures, and reviewing all of them, a decision was made to use Tanya Gomez’ picture,” RGH Director of Marketing Gay Weese said in an e-mail. “It was quite colorful and a great portrayal of radiology.”
Weese said Tanya won $50, and her parents, Cayetano and Mercedes Gomez, are to receive 50 of the cards to send to friends and family. Her picture will hang in the hospital corridor next to the 2008 winner.
Speaking through an interpreter, Tanya said she was excited when she learned she won. She didn’t yet know what she would do with her prize.
The young artist came up with her idea by looking at other pictures, and it took her two days to draw her card design. She said she had fun creating the picture.
The youngest of four children, Tanya said she enjoys drawing and does it often. One of her three brothers, Jorge, now 20, taught her to draw when she was five, she said.
Tanya said she most enjoys drawing animals, particularly cats and dogs.
Tanya’s teacher, Elvira Iturralde, said she tried really hard on her card design.
“She’s such a quiet, shy little girl, I think (the win) was a surprise to her,” Iturralde said. “Personally, I wasn’t really that shocked about it because she always gives 100 percent to everything she does.”
The annual contest challenges fourth-graders to create a card design with a hospital-related theme.
This year, radiology technician Joe Bartlett gave a presentation radiology to the children before they started their designs.
“This project is a great way for the RGH family to wish everyone a very happy holiday season and have a lot fun with the Portales children,” Weese said.