This year's essay judge was Theodora Goss, a graduate of Harvard Law School who also holds an MA in English Literature from Boston University where she is currently working on her Ph.D. She teaches English Literature and Composition at the university level. Her poetry and short stories have been published in several literary magazines. "It was a real pleasure to read this year's essay entries," she said. "A number of the essays, including the winning entries and those receiving honorable mentions, accomplished what the essay does at its best: not just making us think, but also making us care, so that we become personally engaged with the author's message. My sincere thanks to all of the participants, who put such thought and care into their writing."

This year's judge was Marcia Preston, editor & publisher of ByLine magazine, and a twenty-year veteran of magazine writing. Her mystery/suspense novel, Perhaps She'll Die, came out in hardback this summer and is getting good reviews. "The term 'article' covers a broad category which includes many different types of nonfiction writing," stated Marcia. "But whether the article is a profile, a how-to, or a personal experience article, writers should ask themselves one universal question: What's in it for the reader? An article should entertain, educate or inspire. If we write an article to serve our own desires only, it makes boring reading for our audience."
Honorable Mentions
Barb Jensen, "Lessons Learned from a Cornfield Maze"
Bill Beecher, "Going for the Gold in Athens"
Kelly Huckaby, "The Joy of Index Cards"
Third Place, Lou Roach, "Love and the Green Machine"
Second Place, Gail Larson Toerpe, "A Celebration of Heroes: Unknown Soldiers"
First Place and a Jade Ring, Richard Carter, "The Aluminum Overcast" (This is Richard's first ring.)

This year's judge was Ann Allen, who has a degree in history from Middlebury College. Her biography of Lou Henry Hoover, the wife of President Herbert Hoover, was published in 2000. She has also published three books of the local history of Johnson County, Iowa, where she lived for many years. "Each story was unique in its experience and approach," said Ms. Allen. "The three top winners were most complete and did the best job of drawing the reader into the events described."

This year's judge was Wisconsin native, Elizabeth Koehler-Penticoff, who lived nearly 17 years in Oconomowoc. She is the "Writing for Children" columnist for ByLine magazine and is the author of several books including Louise the One and Only, Wish Magic and Help! My Life is Going to the Dogs. Over 300 of her articles have been published in magazines and newspapers and she's been a contest judge for both children's and adult writing contests. Her book on writing for children will be out next year.

This year's judge was Dr. Laurel Yourke, a teacher at UW-Madison who was recognized in 1999 when the Council of Wisconsin Writers selected her for the Christopher Robert Scholes Award for Encouragement of Wisconsin Writers. Her book, Take Your Characters to Dinner, is the result of over thirty years of writing and teaching experience and synthesizes the insights gained during a diverse teaching career. "Judging these stories has been both incredibly uplifting and totally frustrating," stated Dr. Yourke. "My problen entailed awarding only one first place from so many stellar entries. How inspiring to know that this many gifted, innovative writers live this close to home. Many, many of these stories were of unusually high qulaity, and the winners should feel particularly pleased about excelling amidst such fierce competition. Frankly, I feel honored to be a writer among such gifted company."

This year's judge was Karla Huston, whose poetry has been published in many state and national publications, including, Cream City Review, North American Review, The Cimarron Review and The Wisconsin Academy Review. Her chapbook, A Halo of Watchful Eyes, was published in 1997. In 1998, Ms. Huston was awarded a residency at Ragdale Foundation. She serves on the board of directors for the Fox Valley Writing Project, and teaches high school English in Neenah, Wisconsin. Ms. Huston stated, "This is a fine selection of poems with varied sounds: traditional, haiku, narrative, rhyming, poems of great humor, great spirituality."

I want to thank everyone who entered and say that from the judges' comments, all should feel proud of their entries. Good job! Remember that every year we have new judges, so enter again in 2002.