Evan Lankford of Falls Church was selected as the Region 5 winner of the Virginia Municipal League’s “If I Were Mayor” essay contest recently and Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe presented an certificate recognizing Lankford’s essay to him last Wednesday, Jan. 27 at the Library of Virginia in Richmond.

The contest drew more than 1,000 entries from seventh graders throughout the state. Their challenge was to describe what they would do if they were mayor of their hometown.

The essay contest is a key component of the league’s civic education programming, which seeks to teach schoolchildren and adults how local government works and how they can become more involved in making their communities better places to live, work and play. In addition to the certificate, Lankford received a check for $150. For more information, visit vml.org.