Keno Elementary School fourth-grader Abbi Brown is the regional and statewide winner of the 2022 Character Counts essay and drawing contest.

The Character Counts essay contest, an annual event hosted by the National Association for Family and Community Education (NAFCE), is designed to help students learn about six pillars of character — citizenship, trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, and caring. Each year, NAFCE chooses (via a rotation) one pillar to showcase for the nationwide contest. This year the selected pillar is fairness. Students create a drawing and then write an essay that explains their drawing and why the selected pillar is important.

Several students in Shelley Rosser’s Keno Elementary fourth-grade class participated this year. Rosser marketed it to students as an extra credit assignment. Brown won the statewide contest after submitting her work to local and state judges.


With her first place victory, Brown will receive two $100 Visa gift cards, one for her first-place finish in the local contest, and one for her first-place finish in the state contest. Her work also will be entered in NAFCE’s national competition. The winner of the national contest wins a $250 Visa gift card.

When asked how she plans on spending her winnings, Brown said that she will “put it in savings for college.

Abbi’s essay: 

Sharing and Fairness 
By Abbi Brown 
“Treat others how you want to be treated” my mom has always told me. My picture is 
about sharing and fairness. The girl in the picture is not only sharing her cookie, she is giving 
half of her cookie to her friend so it’s fair. When you share and be fair to people you’re leading

by example. When people see that, they could be encouraged to do the same thing. If everybody
does this, the world would be a better place. There are many others that might be less fortunate
than you. Be kind, be fair and share with others.

Abbi Brown, a fourth-grader at Keno Elementary School, is the regional and statewide winner of the 2022
Character Counts essay and drawing contest.

Abbi Brown’s drawing on the Character Counts pillar of fairness.