Teacher and student will have their artwork on display at South Lake Tahoe’s Champions Plaza.

David Foster at the July 7 City Council meeting was awarded the contract to create the centerpiece sculpture. Mark Allione will design the flags.

Foster is the former chairman of Lake Tahoe Community College’s art department, having retired in 2008.  Allione is a former student of his.

The plaza was created by the city at Lakeview Commons as a way to honor athletes from the area. The idea came about after the 2014 Olympics – even though Jamie Anderson, Maddie Bowman and Hannah Teter are all from Meyers. And while athletes other than Olympians are likely to be recognized, the winning art piece is called Olympic Flame and is Foster’s interpretation of that iconic symbol.

Criteria for those being singled out have yet to be determined.

There is room on the pedestal of Foster’s bronze for words that might encapsulate the essence of the plaza.

— Kathryn Reed