Central Bank Announces Essay Contest Winners

Green Country Money Matters

Central Bank of Oklahoma was proud to sponsor the Green Country Matters 2018 Essay Contest. Congratulations go out to the winners.

Green Country Money Matters, Inc. (GCMM) is a non-profit corporation dedicated to providing financial education to low-moderate income individuals and families in Northeastern Oklahoma. As part of their initiative, GCMM hosted an Essay Contest during the month of October, in which a total of $5,000 in scholarship funds were awarded to contest winners. The prizes were distributed as follows:

• $2,500 High School 1st Place
• $1,000 High School 2nd Place
• $1,000 Middle School 1st Place
• $500 Middle School 2nd Place

Winners were announced in December during their annual celebration at OSU Tulsa. Winners of the 2018 GCMM Essay Contest sponsored by Central Bank of Oklahoma are Chloe Dean of Broken Arrow High School, Mai Yang of Daniel Webster High School, Trenton Deramus of Berryhill Middle School, and Caroline Watson of Summit Christian Academy. Each winner was presented with an oversized check.

Chloe Dean, 17, wrote her essay about her life experience in watching how her family manages their money. She poignantly explained how money goals and financial stability can sometimes be an uphill battle. “Financial recovery is a journey. This journey can be rocky, but with education and discipline, the stress can be alleviated. For my family, it took hardcore credit recovery and ditching Pepsi runs. For other families, Pepsi may not be the issue; however, frivolous spending is something distracting for all of us at times. Once a family understands money and takes steps to save and manage their funds, it becomes easier to improve financial standings. My family’s struggle taught me how to manage my money more efficiently, and my bank helped me set up a savings account to fit my needs. With education and budgeting, any family can increase their financial stability,” she stated in her essay.

Mai Lia Yang, 17, wrote about the stress and anxiety in families that stem from finances. In her essay, she explains the importance of budgeting. “Three important things can benefit any family that is wishing to improve their financial status. Communication is crucial. Consulting with a professional bank accountant and creating spending plans can lead to successful money habits. Investing and budgeting brings in more money...other ways to learn about money is through fliers, pamphlets or taking financial literacy courses. Be open to share ideas and talk to friends that have a good financial status. Learning about money can come through reading but having good money experiences is a great way to develop money skills.”

Encourage your students to participate in next year’s Green Country Money Matters essay contest which is held throughout the month of October.