“Illinois' Treasure”: Galatia fifth grade student wins spot in coal calendar contest

Gabe Tate was one proud and happy kid when his poster was chosen to be included in the 2016 coal calendar by the Office of Coal Development, his teacher Cindy Fry says, but the soft-spoken Galatia Grade School student only had one thing to say when asked about how it felt to win the spot.

"Good."

Out of over 1,000 entries from across the state, 13 posters, including Tate's, and 12 essays were chosen for the calendar.

Tate, 11, made a poster featuring coal as Illinois' treasure, a pickaxe and a shovel symbolically crossed behind a drawing of the state. Tate said his dad, a miner for the Knight Hawk coalmine, helped him come up with the idea for his poster, "a little bit."

On May 8, Tate attended an awards ceremony at the Governor's Mansion in Springfield. He was awarded a pyrite, or fool's gold, dollar and a $50 bill. Tate said he already spent some of his money on a new video game. He also received a letter of recognition from state Rep. Brandon Phelps (D-Harrisburg)<span class="s1">.</span>

Tate's art will appear in the 2016 coal calendar, which will be available in September or October of this year. All Illinois coalmines receive free copies, and calendars can be obtained through the Illinois Coal Association, which publishes the calendars.

The contest is meant to teach kids about coal as a resource and fuel, said former Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Director Adam Pollet in a 2014 press release.

"In addition to their experience in learning about Illinois coal, the students also helped us get the word out that Illinois coal is a valuable and affordable fuel," Pollet said. "We continue to look for new ways to promote Illinois coal and further the advancement of clean-coal technology as an integral piece of our energy future."

The 2015 calendar can be viewed online at https://goo.gl/cujJUN<span class="s1">.</span>