Waterman Fund Announces 2008 Alpine Essay Award

Waterman Fund Alpine Essay Contest

WATERMAN FUND PRESENTS

2008 ALPINE ESSAY AWARD TO KIMBERLEY BEAL

1 July 2008

For Immediate Release

For More Information:

Carl Demrow 802-439-6773 E-mail:　info@watermanfund.org

The Waterman Fund is pleased to announce that Kimberley S. K. Beal’s piece “Climate Change at the Top” is the winner of the first annual Waterman Fund Alpine Essay Contest. A graduate student in the University of Vermont’s botany department, Beal’s essay centers around her summer of field research on the effect of climate change at treeline in New England. It will be published in the December issue of Appalachia, the Appalachian Mountain Club’s biannual journal of mountaineering and conservation, and will appear in the Fund’s October newsletter. In addition, Beal will be awarded a $2,000 prize to help her continue to pursue her writing---and to recognize the importance of a new voice addressing northeastern environmental issues.

Will Kemeza’s essay “Dark Night on Whitewall” received honorable mention. While Beal’s piece looks at the northeast’s alpine areas through a scientific lens, Kemeza takes a personal and philosophical approach to seasons spent working in the White Mountains.

Beal’s essay can be read online as of December 1^st at www.watermanfund.org. Kemeza’s will be made available in November. The number and quality of submissions, especially for the Fund’s inaugural contest, impressed the judging panel, and seven other favorites from among the thirty-five pieces received can also be read on the Fund website. Two essays will be posted in August, two in September, and two in October.

Guy and Laura Waterman spent a lifetime reflecting and writing on the Northeast's mountains. The Waterman Fund seeks to further their legacy through selecting annually essays and stories that celebrate the spirit of these areas. The inaugural Waterman Fund Alpine Essay Contest sought pieces by new and emerging writers exploring the relationship between the human spirit and the environment of these northeastern mountains.

The Waterman Fund's objective is to strengthen the human stewardship of the open summits, exposed ridgelines, and alpine areas of the Northeast. In past years, the Fund has supported projects by the Adirondack Mountain Club, Appalachian Mountain Club, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Dartmouth Outing Club, Green Mountain Club, Randolph Mountain Club, and Acadia National Park.

The Waterman Fund is a 501c(3) non-profit organization. Contributions are tax-deductible.

For more information on the Fund, including how to join the Fund's email list, see other recent news, read funded proposals, learn more about the essay contest guidelines, and find out upcoming events, visit the Fund's web site at www.watermanfund.org.

The Waterman Fund seeks the submission of essays about life in the mountains of the northeastern U.S. for its inaugural Waterman Fund Alpine Essay Contest.

Guy and Laura Waterman spent a lifetime reflecting and writing on the Northeast's mountains. The Waterman Fund seeks to further their legacy through essays and stories that celebrate the spirit of the Northeast's mountains. We encourage the submission of essays that explore the relationship between the human spirit and that environment. For example, we seek scientific essays about the effects of global warming; personal stories about hiking experiences; or writings that explore the relationship between people and wildness.

Essays must be original works ranging from 2500 to 4000 words. The submission deadline is May 1, 2008. The winning piece will be published in Appalachia Journal, and the winning essayist will be awarded $2,000.

Writers who have not published a book on such topic or who have not been published in a national magazine on such topic are eligible for participation.

To submit an entry, email a Word document (or compatible format) to:

Mary Margaret Sloan at mmsloan@peoplepc.com or mail to
890 Hunt Road
Windsor, VT 05089

Eligibility: Waterman Fund Alpine Essay Contest (the "Contest") is open only to residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia. The Contest is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations and is void where prohibited by law.Waterman Fund board members are ineligible.
Agreement to Official Rules: By participating in the Contest, contestant warrants that he/she fully and unconditionally agrees to and accepts these Official Rules and the decisions of the Waterman Fund, which are final and binding in all matters related to the Contest. Winning the prize is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth herein.
Timing: The Contest ends at 11:59 p.m. ET, May 1, 2008. Mail-in entries must be postmarked by no later than May 1, 2008.
HOW TO ENTER THE CONTEST: There are two (2) methods of entering the Contest:
1. Electronic Entry: Email (in a Word document or compatible format) to Mary Margaret Sloan at mmsloan@peoplepc.com.
2. Mail-in Entry: Mail to Mary Margaret Sloan, 890 Hunt Road, Windsor, VT 05089.
Conditions and Limits:
1. No submissions will be acknowledged or returned. The Waterman Fund is not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, invalid, unintelligible, illegible, misdirected or postage-due requests, which are void.
2. By entering, entrants represent and warrant that the entries they submit:
  1. a) Are their own original creations;
  2. b) Do not infringe any other person's or entity's rights, including, without limitation, contractual rights, rights of publicity and privacy, trademark, copyright, and patent rights; and
  3. c) Have not been submitted previously in a contest of any kind.
3. Each contestant may enter one (1) Submission to the Contest.
4. The subject of the essay should not present a conflict of interest; i.e. if writer works for a conservation organization, the subject of the essay should not represent what is a priority for that organization.
Notifying the Contest Winner: The winner will be notified by email, phone or registered mail on or about July 15, 2008.
Prize: $2,000 (in the form of a check) and the winning essay printed in Appalachia Journal. The winner must agree for his/her essay to be edited by the editor of Appalachia Journal.

For all prizes: Winner is responsible for all taxes and fees associated with prize receipt. No more than the stated elements of the prize will be awarded.
General Conditions and Rights: The Waterman Fund reserves the right to cancel or modify the Contest if fraud, technical failures or any other factor beyond Waterman Fund's reasonable control impairs the integrity of the Contest, as determined by the Waterman Fund in its sole discretion. In such event, the Waterman Fund reserves the right to award the prize at random from among the eligible entries received up to the time of the impairment. In addition, submission of an entry in this Contest constitutes entrants' agreement to grant the Waterman Fund an irrevocable royalty-free worldwide license to reproduce and display the entry or any derivative thereof, credited with entrant's first and last name.
Release: By entering this Contest, contestant agrees to release and hold harmless the Waterman Fund, and each of its respective officers and directors, (collectively the "Released Parties") from and against any losses, damages, rights, claims or causes of action of any kind arising, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, out of participation in the Contest, as well as claims based on defamation and infringement of any other person's or entity's rights, including, without limitation, contractual rights, rights of publicity and privacy, trademark, copyright, and patent rights.
Limitations of Liability: The Released Parties are not responsible for: (1) any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by contestants, printing errors or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Contest; (2) technical failures of any kind, including, but not limited to malfunctions, interruptions, or disconnections in phone lines or network hardware or software; (3) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the entry process or the Contest; (4) technical or human error which may occur in the administration of the Contest or the processing of entries; (5) any injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from contestant's participation in the Contest or receipt or use of any prize or while traveling to or from any prize-related activity; or (6) liability in connection with the Content. If for any reason a contestant's entry is confirmed to have been erroneously deleted, lost, or otherwise destroyed or corrupted, contestant's sole remedy is another entry in the Contest during the Contest Period.