The Lakewood Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce that Jaret Pustai, a fourth grader at Lakewood Catholic Academy, is the winner of the First Annual "Why I Love Lakewood" Fourth Grade Essay Contest. The essay contest was open to all fourth grade students in Lakewood and was run is conjunction with "Light Up Lakewood", the City's holiday lighting ceremony. Jaret's essay was selected from nearly 100 other entries because it was well written, original and captured the spirit of what most Lakewood kids love about their hometown. As part of his prize, Jaret helped Santa flip the switch to light up the holiday decorations on Detroit Avenue at Friday evening's Light Up Lakewood opening ceremonies. Jaret also received a bike helmet and a gift certificate from Spin Bike Shop in Lakewood, courtesy of Spin and the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce.

Following is a copy of Jaret's award winning Essay.

WHY I LOVE LAKEWOOD

by Jaret Pustai

Lakewood is the best city in the world! I love Lakewood Park. It is so fun. I like to go down by the lake and look at Cleveland and watch the waves go by. It is also fun to just ride a bike on the pathway. Another thing I like about Lakewood is Lakewood Public Library. I always find what I am looking for whether it’s for a book report or just for reading. It’s very big, neat, and clean. Another think I love is my school. I learn something new there everyday. Its nice and clean like the library. I even like the outdoors. It’s not polluted at all; it’s nice and fresh. In the fall I like to rake leaves and jump in them. In the winter I like to have a snowball flight. In the summer I like to go swimming. And in the spring I like to watch the rain fall down. Another thing I like about Lakewood is Madison Pool. They have clean water. It's fun to go off the diving board or the slide. Or it’s just fun to swim. Another thing I like about Lakewood is their stores. They have a lot of stores in Lakewood. You could probably find anything in Lakewood’s stores. I like Lakewood because of their churches. They are so big and clean. We have mass at our school every Friday. These are the reasons why I love Lakewood.