Awards announced in union’s writing contest

The Union's annual writing contest for high school students has grown greatly in popularity since it was initiated six years ago. Hundreds of entries were received this year and the competition has once again provided solid evidence that our Union's family has many bright, caring and creative children. The essays that were submitted showed pensiveness and consideration. The narratives and poems displayed much talent and creativity. Almost all entries showed strong social awareness. As in the past, this made judging the competition a difficult task. The winners of the 2009 contest were selected at the end of the summer and are announced in this edition of Hotel Voice.

Sponsored by the Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation, the writing contest has captured the collective imagination of many of our members' children. The Foundation has long supported efforts to make society more responsive to progressive ideas and more supportive of grass roots organizations including unions. In conceiving the contest the foundation's aim was to promote creativity among the children of members of our Union and to empower individuals to develop their full potential. Although the foundation provides the prize money, it has no say in the determination of the winners, and neither does the Union. An impartial committee of judges chooses the prize winners. The contest is open to high school students in grades 10, 11 and 12.

The high quality and large volume of submissions to the writing contest made it a challenging task to choose the winners. But every entry was considered, and in many cases read by a number of people. As we noted last year, many of the poems read like rap lyrics while others are more traditional. The narratives, especially the non-fiction narratives, once again made for compelling reading, and the essays show our members' children are not afraid to tackle serious or controversial subjects.

We are very grateful to Don Rubin and the Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation for giving our members' children this excellent opportunity to express their opinions and show their artistic skills," Hotel Trades Council President Peter Ward said. "The entries in the 2009 competition were as impressive as the ones submitted to the five earlier competitions."

Of course, the prize money offered by the contest is always an incentive for students to participate. First place winners in the three categories won $1,500 each, second place winners received $750 and third place winners received $300 each. There were also a number of honorable mention awards of $250 each. There is one other prize: Best Overall Entry. This $2,000 award is bestowed on the entry that is considered the best among all poems, essays or narratives that are submitted. The 2009 Best Overall Entry was an essay entitled "What's Wrong with Our Education System?" It was written by Erica Cheung.

The prizes were awarded by Donald Rubin, whose foundation sponsors the contest and whose father, Jay Rubin, was the first president of the Hotel Trades Council and Bruce Payne, who is the Executive Director of the Shelly and Donald Rubin Foundation. At the awards ceremony Mr. Rubin announced that the contest will continue in 2010.Members can look for information on the 2010 competition in Hotel Voice next April or May.