MONTICELLO - When 10-year-old Shelby Graham was called out of her classroom by her teacher, she was not expecting to receive a commendation.

"I thought I was in trouble, because she took me out in the hall by myself," said Shelby, a fourth-grader at Washington Grade School.

She was relieved and excited to learn that she had beaten out more than 100 students in a contest to draw a holiday card for Kirby Hospital.

"I just got it out of my mind," Shelby said, referring to the source of her inspiration. "I was thinking about doing Santa's sleigh, but I thought it would be too hard, so I just drew his house and a reindeer."

Shelby, the daughter of Candi and David Graham, drew a colorful picture of Santa's lodgings, complete with dotted-candy outer walls, a candy cane-lined sidewalk and an evergreen visible through a window. She used pencil, crayons and markers to obtain the desired effect.

As a reward for her efforts, Shelby received an art kit from the hospital, which also gave a $100 check to her teacher, Kathleen Piatt.

When Piatt heard about the contest, she encouraged her students to use their free time at school to produce their entries.

Piatt said she was very happy for Shelby, who seemed to take in stride her time in the limelight.

"Shelby was pleased for the opportunity to do this," Piatt said. "It's a talent she will continue to use and develop."

Piatt said she is looking forward to purchasing the cards, which she plans to send out as her Christmas cards. Packets of cards, which will include the drawings by Shelby and five other students, will be available soon at the Kirby Hospital Gift Shop.

"I think it's a wonderful avenue to promote and celebrate children's talent," Piatt said.

The runners-up in the art contest were fourth-graders Ty Alexander, Washington School; Ali Johnson, Bement Elementary School; Sarah Olson, DeLand-Weldon Elementary School; and Addison Burns and Ali Nordman, both of Blue Ridge-Mansfield Elementary School.

When the hospital sends out its cards to community members, they will have Shelby's picture on them.

"It was a tough choice," said Kirby CEO Steve Tenhouse, adding this was the first year of the contest. "There were a lot of artistic and unique cards. This was a way to make the card unique to the community we serve. Each year in the future, we will do this again."

hfreeman@herald-review.com|421-6985