Byng Senior Wins Art Award
2007

Courtney Parchcorn, a Byng High School senior, recently won "Best in Show" in the national Red Earth Youth Arts competition. Along with the distinction of winning "Best in Show," for the second consecutive year, she was awarded $300 in prize money from Red Earth.

Her entry in the nationwide Arts competition was a beaded walking cane, which she created for her grandfather, Franklin D. Allen. Mr. Allen, a full-blood Chickasaw, died this year before Courtney completed the cane, and although it was emotionally taxing, she finished the cane and dedicated it to his memory.

When Courtney, who is also a Chickasaw citizen, received the check for her winnings, she was thinking of how the money could help others, not just herself. Her parents, Buddy and Fran Parchcorn, have educated Courtney about the Oglala Sioux tribe and how different life is on the Pine Ridge Reservation. So, without a second thought, she donated one-third of her winnings to a school supply drive for children living on the South Dakota reservation. On the Pine Ridge Reservation, where the annual per capita income is less than $4,000, Courtney knew it would mean many children would have absolutely nothing to start the school year. When the organization received the funds, the school supply drive was named in memory of Courtney's grandfather. Courtney was proud she could honor her grandfather in this way.

Source: Chickasaw Times, October 2007 Edition