Winners of the 2015 annual contests in prose and poetry were awarded cash prizes and certificates at a ceremony held at the Little Theater in the H.B. Allen Library on Feb. 28. The contests are sponsored by the Anson County Writers’ Club.
Club President Kaye Ratliff welcomed the winners, their friends and families. Beverley Getzen, contest chairman, called the winners to the podium to read a selection from their entries. Contest committee members Ruth Hickman and Randy Tarlton handed out the prizes.
Ruth Hickman won twice in the adult category, garnering first place for her essay, “Lasting Fragrance” and second place for her poem, “My Sole/Soul Bucket List.”
Mario Kersey won first place for his poem, “Family Reunion” and Libby Allen won second place for her memoir, “Seining Trip at Brown Creek.” Both Kersey and Allen have won awards in previous contests.
Airyn Jones, a student at Anson High School, won first place for her short story, “You’re Not Alone” in the grades 10-12 category.
Poetry winners in grades 10-12 were Vontarya McBride, Anson County Early College, for “When a Poet Dreams;”Savannah Sommerville, home-schooled, for “Who Are You;” and Erin Kelley, Early College, for “The Final Act.”
Winners in the grades 3-6 prose category were Labdhi Shah, Peachland-Polkton Elementary School, for “The Boy Who Saw a Leprechaun;” Stetson Sessions, Ansonville Elementary School, for “No Technology;” and Sarah Lang, Wadesboro Primary School, for “The Story of Horse, Fish and Turtle.”
Winning honorable mentions were Adeline Cavenaugh for “The Enchanted Forest;” Kiara Horne for “The Wonder Crew of Wonder;” and Tyheem Carelock for “Deer.” All attend Wadesboro Primary School.
Poetry awards in grades 3-6 went to Audrey Hyatt, Peachland-Polkton Elementary, for “Softball Life;” Gregory Covington, Ansonville Elementary, for “Football for Life;” and Lynlee Martin, Ansonville Elementary, for “My Dream.”
Awarded honorable mention were Kayle Latchman, Wadesboro Primary, for “Mother’s Day;” Dexter Jones, Peachland-Polkton, for “The Big Win;” and Princess Love, Wadesboro Primary, for “Great Job.”
Ratliff concluded the ceremony by urging the winners to keep on writing.
A reception with finger foods and punch followed the awards presentation.
The annual contests have been held since 1989. Members of the Union County Writers’ Club judged the 2015 entries.
An anthology of the 2013, 2014 and 2015 winners, “Anson Pathways IX,” will be available later this year.
For more information about the Anson County Writers’ Club, contests, upcoming programs and previous publications, visit www.ansoncountywritersclub.org.
