"And the WINNER IS . . . ."
Trinity County Champion Sunshine Montgomery goes to Sacramento
10 students competed to become the Trinity County Champion of Poetry Out Loud, Feb. 6 at the Performing Arts Center. The Runner up from Hayfork High School, is Jeremiah Lewis. First Place from Hayfork High School went to Sunshine Montgomery.
All 10 competitors were well prepared and poised, with a deep knowledge of their poem, such that, on any given day, another student may have won First Place. But on this day, the audience agreed by thunderous applause that Sunshine is deserving of the title of Trinity Champion and will represent Trinity County so proudly at the State Competition in Sacramento, March 15 & 16.
The Performing Arts Center was teeming with palpable energy. Family members, lots of student support, and people who just enjoy literary works, filled the theater in celebration of the spoken word. Erin Dunn from the office of Assemblymember Jim Wood joined us from Eureka to present a lovely gift to the Champion. M.C. Jay Underwood and his sound tech, Andrew Ritachka of Trinity High School set the stage for success. The wide variety of poems expressed with such deep emotion took the audience on a joyous adventure. The true winner of this competition is the Trinity Community. People from Coffee Creek, Junction City, Douglas City, Hayfork, and Weaverville experienced students who made a massive commitment including countless hours of hard work after school.
One student said,” This competition is like LIFE. Sometimes you take on a commitment without realizing how hard it will be. You might want to quit. But you can’t. You’re part of a group, a team, with every one of them putting in the same hard work – depending upon ME to follow through. To NOT give up. We support each other. We are happy for the other guy when they win. Yeah, of course, we each want to win, but we recognize the value of our teammate and are truly happy for their success.” “This contest IS LIFE, on a small scale”.
And now Sunshine Montgomery goes forward representing Trinity County. You can follow Sunshine and POL on Hayforkers FB, Trinity County Arts Alive FB. The California Arts Council will be streaming the competition.
All 10 competitors were well prepared and poised, with a deep knowledge of their poem, such that, on any given day, another student may have won First Place. But on this day, the audience agreed by thunderous applause that Sunshine is deserving of the title of Trinity Champion and will represent Trinity County so proudly at the State Competition in Sacramento, March 15 & 16.
The Performing Arts Center was teeming with palpable energy. Family members, lots of student support, and people who just enjoy literary works, filled the theater in celebration of the spoken word. Erin Dunn from the office of Assemblymember Jim Wood joined us from Eureka to present a lovely gift to the Champion. M.C. Jay Underwood and his sound tech, Andrew Ritachka of Trinity High School set the stage for success. The wide variety of poems expressed with such deep emotion took the audience on a joyous adventure. The true winner of this competition is the Trinity Community. People from Coffee Creek, Junction City, Douglas City, Hayfork, and Weaverville experienced students who made a massive commitment including countless hours of hard work after school.
One student said,” This competition is like LIFE. Sometimes you take on a commitment without realizing how hard it will be. You might want to quit. But you can’t. You’re part of a group, a team, with every one of them putting in the same hard work – depending upon ME to follow through. To NOT give up. We support each other. We are happy for the other guy when they win. Yeah, of course, we each want to win, but we recognize the value of our teammate and are truly happy for their success.” “This contest IS LIFE, on a small scale”.
And now Sunshine Montgomery goes forward representing Trinity County. You can follow Sunshine and POL on Hayforkers FB, Trinity County Arts Alive FB. The California Arts Council will be streaming the competition.
