MADISON - Peg Sherry, Madison, took first place honors with her essay, “Finding the Word,” in the Wisconsin Regional Writers’ Florence Lindemann Humor Contest. In her essay, Sherry enlightens her readers about the word-retrieval game we play — especially as we get older:

“F” shouts the man’s wife. Last name begins with “F”

“Three syllables,” I call, as though a voice from some mysterious place prompts me.

Sherry was awarded the $50 first prize at the May 4 WRWA Spring Conference in Manitowoc. This year’s judge, humor writer Susan Murphy of Birmingham, Alabama, said, ‘Finding the Word’ was skillfully executed, approached a common problem from a new angle, and made me laugh out loud!”

The $30 second prize went to Joan Simons, Wauwatosa, for her essay, “State-of-the-Barks.” In her essay, Simons explained how Blaze, her eight-year-old Sheltie, reacts to all of her state-of-the-art purchases.

The $20 third prize was awarded to Janice S. Kaat of Sheboygan Falls for her essay, “Mistaken Identity,” an amusing account of a woman who is mistaken for someone else by a little old lady.

Certificates of Merit for Honorable Mention went to Laurie C. Pech-Daley of Stevens Point for her essay, “The Way of the Twinkie,” which pointed out how obsessive-compulsive nutritionists have programmed us to hate Hostess Cupcakes and Twinkies; Earl Gates of Appleton, who wrote about a terrorist group, En Rhan, attacking a skyscraper in Texas in his essay, “Homeland Defense”; and Darlene A. Buechel, Chilton, for her essay, “Color Me Confused,” where Buechel laments about things not being the color we expect anymore, like Grinch Green or Passion Purple Ketchup.

Barb Jensen, Portage, was the chairperson for this year’s contest in which 40 writers competed. Over 100 writers from Wisconsin and neighboring states attended the spring conference in Manitowoc.