CUMMING — The Cumming City Council and Mayor Ford Gravitt recognized Piney Grove Middle School student Suba Senthil earlier this month for her award-winning “If I were Mayor” essay. The essay contest was sponsored by the Georgia Municipal Association, which selected winners from each of its 12 districts statewide. The contest is open to all sixth-graders across the state, and invites them to write about what they would do if they were mayor of their local city. Senthil won the contest for District 2, which includes cities in Forsyth and 11 other northeast Georgia counties. In total, more than 6,000 students statewide wrote and submitted essays this year. In her winning essay, Senthil noted that if she were mayor, she would focus on preserving the city’s natural beauty by creating more nature parks and trails. She would also fix potholes, ban smoking in public places and establish more shelters and programs to protect animals. As one of the district winners, Senthil, her family and a representative of the city attended an awards luncheon at Turner Field in Atlanta, where she was recognized for her essay and received $250 and a trophy. In a statement, Gravitt praised Senthil for essay “through which you demonstrated intellect, poise and interest in your community and country.”“It’s exciting to know that you put so much thought into the actions you would take if you were mayor of this city,” he said.