St. Jerome Regional School student Abby Pilla, 13, will be nationally recognized after winning a local art expression competition sponsored by the Tamaqua Lions Club.

Roberts's poster was among more than 300,000 entries submitted worldwide in the 24th annual Lions International Peace Poster Contest. Lions Clubs International sponsors the annual contest to emphasize the importance of world peace to young people everywhere.Each year, Lions clubs around the world sponsor the Lions International Peace Poster Contest in local schools and youth groups. This art contest for kids encourages young people worldwide to express their visions of peace. During the last 20 years, more than four million children from nearly 100 countries have participated in the contest. The theme of the 2011-12 Peace Poster Contest was "Children Know Peace." Students, ages 11, 12 or 13 were eligible to participate.Tamaqua Lions Club President Brian Keich said he was impressed by the expression and creativity of all the students at St. Jerome Regional School and Tamaqua Middle School.Pilla's poster will advance to face stiff competition through the district, multiple district and international rounds of competition if he is to be declared the international grand prize winner," said Sue Dolan, Tamaqua Lion.One grand prize winner and 23 merit award winners will be selected. The grand prize includes a cash award of $5,000, plus a trip for the winner and two family members to the awards ceremony at Lions Day with the United Nations. The 23 merit award winners will each receive a certificate and a cash award of $500."Our club is cheering for Pilla as her poster advances in the competition and will ultimately be shared with others around the world.Locally, Pilla will be honored for his participation by the Tamaqua Lions Club at an upcoming dinner meeting.View international grand prize and merit award winners at

www.lionsclubs.org .Lions Clubs International is the world's largest service club organization with more than 1.3 million members in 45,000 clubs in more than 200 countries and geographic areas. In addition to its efforts toward conquering blindness, the organization has made a strong commitment to community service and helping youth throughout the world.