- June 15, 2025
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Eleven-year-old Mark Eubanks always has been a social child, making friends with people of all ages.
He never complains when he has to sit with adults or has to play with all younger kids.
“He has this quality to listen and be social," said his mom, Jennifer Eubanks. "You gain so much from that. It's very enriching and I think that helps his imagination and his writing. Authors need experience.”
At 6 years old, Mark Eubanks knew he wanted to be an author. His goal is to write a fiction book and while on that path, he already has added a couple of essay contest wins to his resume.
The most recent essay contest victory was through the Florida Retired Educators Association, which has been holding its essay contest since 2006.
The topic was sharing a favorite memory with a grandparent.
Mark Eubanks won the Manatee County contest and was third in the state division with "Chess with my grandma."
“I know I'm a good writer,” Mark Eubanks said. “I just don't expect to win, because I think there's going to be one that's five times better than mine.”
His dad, Mark Eubanks IV, appreciated that his son’s essay was very simple and didn’t contain a lot of extra fluff. He said it still struck a chord with everyone who read it.
The elder Eubanks said his son's writing brought out new images that he hadn't even seen being part of the family.
Eubanks' grandmother, Palmetto's Lynn Arreola, was the subject of the essay. They play chess together every time they're together, often on the bottom bunk in Mark’s room.
They also keep in touch with a video call every Sunday.
“His grandmother's very good (at chess), she taught him and he took to it. It’s a real bond between the two,” said Mark's father.
In the essay, a main theme stressed by the writer was that it was important because it was a game for just the two of them.
The Eubanks' family gave Arreola a red folder that contained a copy of the essay as a Valentine's Day present.
Jennifer Eubanks said she had won an essay contest as a kid and her son's essay might have reminded her grandmother of that time. Arreola was excited, sharing her grandson's victory with everyone she could.
“I think it warmed her heart,” Jennifer Eubanks said of her mom.
Mark Eubanks read his essay aloud at the school board meeting April 29. His dad said his son never gets nervous reading his work or public speaking. However, he did say he was worried that day, because he didn't want to take attention away from his 6-year-old sister Georgia's birthday.
Jennifer Eubanks said after he was done reading his essay, he introduced his family members including Georgia, “the birthday girl herself.”
“He kept saying, I had to do it on Georgia’s birthday,” Jennifer Eubanks said. “He's like, ‘I'm so sorry, Mom.’”
Jennifer Eubanks said Mark Eubanks wrote the core of the essay in one sitting over Christmas break and revised and edited it over a three-week period. Jennifer Euubanks encouraged her son to never leave an extra credit point behind
“I love the structure of it and I think it's just such a good skill to have to be able to research, write it, formulate your thoughts and organize it and then edit and revise,” Jennifer Eubanks said. “I love that whole process.”
The writer Mark Eubanks said the most challenging part of writing the essay was the word count and had trouble narrowing down his work in order to fit the requirements.
Jennifer Eubanks said what was so special about the contest is that it was all retired educators. Anne Fagan, executive director of the Florida Retired Educators Association, started creating posters for the top three winners in 2011.
Fagan said it was “especially wonderful to create as I too learned chess from a grandparent and still have wonderful memories of those quiet hours to this day.”
Mark Eubanks will attend a recognition luncheon at World Golf Village Renaissance St. Augustine Resort on May 21 in St. Augustine where he will receive the poster of his essay and meet the members of the Florida Retired Educators Association.
Eubanks said there are a lot of people who helped build all of his dreams to become an author including his fourth grade reading teacher Carrie Botros and his current fifth grade English teacher Jennifer McGregor.
Denise Herrera, the fourth grade teacher who taught Eubanks math and science, was also a support system for Eubanks. Jennifer Eubanks said she went out of her way to support Mark on a Saturday and listen to his speech on why he thinks longer weekends would be beneficial. That speech won the 2024 Manatee County 4H County Level Public Speaking Contest.
Correction: This article has been update to correct Georgia and Jennifer Eubanks' names.
