St. Charles, Oakwood studentswinDottie Yeck Good Life awards
Washington-Centerville Public Library hosted the 15th annual Dottie Yeck Good Life Award Writing Contest this fall and recently announced the winners.
Reese Hornick, an eighth-grader in Emily Ann Issenmann’s class at Kettering’s St. Charles Borromeo School, won first place in the competition from a pool of more than 700 essays. All entries were blind judged. I was honored to be one of the finalist judges, along with bestselling Young Adult author Mindee Arnett, and awardwinning writer and editor Mary McCarty. Though we judged separately, Hornick’s essays emerged as the unanimous winner.
This year’s writing contest challenge resonated with students across Montgomery County as they wrote about how they managed their self-confidence, regrouping and reevaluating their expectations during the continuing health emergency. Hornick’s essay rose to the top in every round of the three-round competition; she will receive a certificate of merit as well as a check for $3,000.
The contest is paid for with endowment funds and honors the legacy of Dottie Yeck, who was a lifelong supporter of libraries, children and the arts. Her philosophy of Being Good + Doing Good = Having Fun + Being Happy has inspired thousands of teens across the Miami Valley to write about laying a good foundation for their lives. Yeck was a longtime Washington-Centerville Public Library trustee and the Yeck Family Foundation continues to support her legacy of community involvement.
In this year’s contest, the next three prizes all went to freshman students in Emily Sullivan’s class at Oakwood High School. They are: second place ($500) to Sarah Merithew; third place ($250) to Sasha Guseva; and fourth place ($100) to Laila Blumer. Twenty honorable mentions also will be presented, with certificates being awarded to students from Centerville High School, Holy Angels School, Incarnation School, Kettering Middle School, Kettering Fairmont High School, Oakwood High School, Tower Heights Middle School (Centerville), and Hadley E. Watts Middle School (Centerville).
The top four writers will be pre-recorded reading their essays, and the readings will be shared at a Virtual Good Life Award Ceremony on Thursday, Dec. 10, live streamed via Crowdcast. The winning essays can be read at wclibrary.info/gla/winners/ current/. Family, friends, and members of the general public are invited to log in to the celebration to enjoy the program featuring nationally known teen leadership expert Fran Kick. Contact Debe Dockins at ddockins@wcpl. lib.oh.us or 937-610-4429 with any questions.
“Solstice: The Healing Earth”: A Virtual Poetry Reading
Tecumseh Land Trust and Glen Helen are sponsoring the ninth annual Solstice Poetry Reading on Friday, Dec. 11, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. via Zoom. To attend, simply send your email address to sunflowers@tecumsehlandtrust.org. Once registered, you will receive a link to the Zoom meeting. Please register by Thursday, Dec. 10.
Eight Ohio poets, including State Poet Laureate Kari Gunter-Seymour, will read. GunterSeymour’s award-winning poetry collection is
“A Place So Deep Inside America It Can’t Be Seen.” Other poets reading for the event are Jaime Adoff, Kathy B. Austin, Mario Cosey, Furaha HenryJones, Robin Mullett, Frances Simon, and Kerry Trautman. For more information about these poets, please visit www.tecumsehlandtrust.org.
Though the event is free, donations to benefit Glen Helen and the land trust will be accepted. Recently, the Glen Helen Association, a “friends” organization supporting the Glen since 1961, purchased the preserve from Antioch College. In early October, the Glen reopened after being closed for six months due to the pandemic. To donate, please visit www. tecumsehlandtrust.org and scroll down to the article about the poetry reading.
December Events for Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton’s Cultural Book and
Arts Festival
Learn more about these events and register at jewishdayton.org/program/cultural-arts-and-book-series/. The first two upcoming events are free; the virtual tour has a small charge:
Tuesday, Dec. 8, noon — Jan Eliasberg presents her novel set during World War II, “Hannah’s War.”
Tuesday, Dec. 8, 7 p.m. — Stephanie Butnick, Liel Leibovitz, and Mark Oppenheimer present their book, “The Newish Jewish Encyclopedia.”
Monday, Dec. 14, 7 p.m. — The Illinois Holocaust Museum will take attendees on a virtual tour of the exhibit, “Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.” This event has a $10 fee.