May 21, 2026
Five-year-old Theo Stoup reads his original poem “Freedom” as part of the May 16 poetry awards ceremony at the Mary C. Jenkins Community and Cultural Center. MCJCCC
The Mary C. Jenkins Community and Cultural Center recently held an awards ceremony for its sixth annual poetry contest.
The theme of this year’s contest was “freedom and what it means to you.” A total of 59 entries were received and the first-place winners in the four age group categories were (adult) Michael Dexter-Smith, (high school) Maite Hernandez, (middle school) Austin Peffley and (pre-K through elementary school) Theo Stoup. Each received $100. The contest was sponsored by the center, the City of Brevard and Brevard Rotary.
Below is the text of Stoup’s winning entry:
Freedom
by Theo Stoup
Climbing trees.
Playing with your friends.
Reading Captain Underpants if you have it.
Pretending a coffee machine is a robot.
Picking flowers.
Blowing bubbles in the winter.
Smoking meat if you have a smoker.
Hanging out with your favorite cat in the world.
Flying airplanes.
Growing plants.
Eating pizza.
Going to the beach right now.
The end.