In March, DiAnna received a phone call from Pamela Michael, Co-Founder of the International River of Words Poetry and Art Contest. At that time, she informed DiAnna that her poem "Heaven", had been selected as the Grand Prize Winner for her age group, one of only four grand prize winners! Her prize included two round-trip tickets to Washington D.C. and Lodging for three night DiAnna was also informed that the awards ceremony would take place in the Jefferson Room at The Library of Congress. It was a dream come true! Not only did DiAnna get to share the award stage with the other winners from around the country and world, but the literary giants themselves, Pamela Michael and Pulitzer Prize winner, Robert Haas! During her family's visit to Washington D.C., she also got to visit with Representative Betsy Markey and then received an escorted tour of our Nation's Capitol Building.
Overall, this was a once in a lifetime experience! DiAnna just happened to enter this contest at home on a whim. She wrote her poem during free writing in school one day and decided to give it a try. DiAnna is most proud of the fact that everyone who reads her poem gets a chance to know her Grandad! "He was the kind of person that you wanted to be around all day long...he was a farmer and brought to life everything he touched."
