NEW YORK— Prevent Blindness America (PBA) announced the state winners of its “Most Beautiful Eyes Contest” earlier this month. The winners were announced and displayed in a photo gallery on the PBA website. The “Most Beautiful Eyes Contest,” which began in June on the association’s Facebook page, was created to raise awareness of children’s eye health, and will award one national winner a $10,000 educational scholarship provided by Marchon Eyewear.
 
Each state winner will receive a free pair of Real Kids Shades (RKS) sunglasses and a copy of the new book Jacob’s Eye Patch by Beth Kobliner Shaw and Jacob Shaw. The former author is one of the celebrity panel of judges, which includes ORA-TV’s Larry King, “Fox NFL Sunday” Host Curt Menefee and “I Dream of Jeannie” actress Barbara Eden.
 
From the state winners, the judging panel will choose one national winner who, along with two family members, will be invited to spend a weekend in Chicago and to attend the PBA Annual Awards Banquet, where the scholarship prize will be officially awarded. The banquet is scheduled to take place on Nov. 8, 2013.
 
The “Most Beautiful Eyes” photo contest took place on the PBA Facebook page. Children aged 17 and younger were invited to have their photos submitted between June 24 and July 31, 2013. Participating and public followers were then encouraged to vote for their favorite entries between Aug. 1 and Aug. 31, 2013, a maximum of once per day. The national winner will be announced on or before Oct. 12, 2013, or six weeks from the end of the contest period, according to the contest rules. Additional contest sponsors include Eagle Eyes Optics and Walters Golf.