April 23, Speaker Johnson honored winners of the 2025 Congressional Art Competition and Congressional Commendation recipients at the 2025 Community Awards Ceremony for Louisiana’s Fourth Congressional District.
“We just had an extraordinary event – we love to do this annually. We give out awards for people who really represent our communities well and do a lot of extraordinary work in all of our 20 parishes around the 4th Congressional District, which is the greatest district in America. There is of honor to give, and it is due,” Speaker Johnson said. “It was a great day, and we love to do this event.”
The Congressional Art Competition is a nationwide, visual art contest for high school students, in which one piece of artwork from each congressional district is chosen by a panel of judges to be displayed in the U.S. Capitol Building for one year. The second, third, and fourth place selections will be proudly displayed in Speaker Johnson’s congressional offices.
Congressional Commendation recipients were submitted for consideration by constituents of Louisiana’s Fourth Congressional District and chosen for their efforts to better their communities.
2025 Congressional Art Competition Winners:
- 1st Place: “Craw-Fever” by Grace Rougeau, Faith Training Christian Academy
- 2nd Place: “Glow of the Magnolia” by Ava Agee, Airline High School
- 3rd Place: “Serene” by Samirah Etienna, South Beauregard High School
- 4th Place: “Bayou’s Serenity” by EMantyi Mosby, Airline High School
- Staff Pick: “Beauty of the Swamp” by Jarei’Yuana Adams, Homer High School
- Staff Pick: “In Loving Memory” by Angela Smith, Simsboro High School
2025 Congressional Commendation Recipients:
Allen:
- Patsy Cavenah, Founder and Director of Lighthouse Ministries
Beauregard:
- Kenneth Harlow, DeRidder Fire Chief (30 years of service)
Bossier:
- Natalie Davis, Haughton High School student, worked to get girls’ wrestling sanctioned in Louisiana
- Brad Zagone, Bossier City Fire Chief (30 years of service)
- James “Trey” Morriss, Mission Operation Squirrel, Director of Staff, Eighth Air Force & Joint-Global Strike Operations Center
- Warren Ward, Mission Operation Squirrel, Executive Director, Louisiana Tech Research Institute
- Lane Calloway, Barksdale Air Force Base Historian
Caddo:
- Laurie Boswell, CEO of Holy Angels
- Jacob Schneider, Caddo Magnet High School student, Eagle Scout, led a team from Shreveport to Tumutumu, Kenya to train 72 students in livestock management, farming skills needed to increase the yield of their family farms by 60%, and financial skills to market their produce and manage their money.
Bienville:
- Deanna Curtis, Bienville Court Appointed Special Advocate, Chamber President, Victims for Youth Justice Board Member, and DART volunteer
Claiborne:
- Pat Abshire, Claiborne Chamber President
Grant:
- Bonita Armour, created an after-school program for Grant Parish youth
Jackson:
- Wilda Smith, Secretary and Treasurer for the Jackson Parish Museum Board, Jackson Parish Tourism, Jackson Parish Cancer Board, Jonesboro Hodge Lions Club Board, Secretary Jackson Parish Industrial District Board, and the Treasurer Jackson Parish Study Guild
Lincoln:
- Sam Mattox, Oldest-living WWII veteran in Louisiana, turning 106 this year
Ouachita:
- Roy Heatherly, Ouachita Chamber President
Sabine:
- Crystal Hable, dedicated to service and organization of events in community
- Blake Byles, organizes hunting trips for disabled children and veterans
Union:
- Axton Nolan, 2025 U.S. Service Academy Appointee, United States Air Force Academy
Vernon:
- Melinda Granger, School teacher of 36 years at Rosepine High School
Webster:
Jerry Madden, Minden Lion, veteran, past Minden Man of the Year