Essay Contest 2007
In honor of Women’s History Month, The Washington County Commission
for Women honored the winners of the Commission’s Annual Essay Contest
with a reception on Wednesday evening, March 14. The reception was conducted
by Rose Wolters, current Commission President, and was held in the County
Administration Building at 7:00 pm. The reception served as a forum for
the winners to read their essays and stand before proud parents and teachers
to receive their certificate and prize check. Julie Ann Albawitz was
in attendance to read a letter from Senator Barbara Mikulski and presented
the winners with an additional certificate.
The Commission awarded four prizes. Meredith Sumner, an 11th grader from Broadfording Christian Academy and an essay contest winner from previous years, won first place for her essay on Nancy Alcorn. Second place went to Seth Brewer, a 10th grader from Heritage Academy, for his essay on Elizabeth Blackwell. Also writing about Elizabeth Blackwell, Lindsey Mills, a Clear Spring High School 10th grader won third place. Shane Burkett, also a 10th grader from Heritage Academy, wrote about Clara Barton and took home the Honorable Mention prize.
The Essay Contest is one of the key activities of the Commission and always receives a good response from the students of the County. This year was the eleventh of such annual essay contests with the topic being Women in the Healing Arts. Students chose women that they admire from this category as their essay subject. The contest was distributed in December and was open to any student from 8th through 12th grade who is schooled in Washington County – public school, private school, or home school. Cash Prizes ranged from $50 to $300.