For Immediate Release:
June 11, 2010

For more information, contact:
Alexa Scott-Flaherty
Writers & Books
585.473.2590 ext: 106
or
Francine Patella Ryan
ESL Public Affairs Manager
fpatella@esl.org
585.336.1089 or 585.261.6220 (cell)

ESL Federal Credit Union and Writers & Books Announce Winners of Poetry Contest for Rochester Area Students

Contest held in recognition of credit union's move to new headquarters downtown

First place winners and runners-up of the "It's Good to be Home" poetry contest sponsored by ESL and Writers & Books (front row, left-to-right): Jenna Prosperi, Avery Garratt; (back row, left-to-right): David L. Fiedler, President and CEO, ESL Federal Credit Union; Lauren Morehouse, Taisha Marrero, Yawen Ding, Anna Raynor, and Joe Flaherty, executive director, Writers & Books

Rochester, New York... ESL Federal Credit Union and Writers & Books announced today the winners for the poetry contest, "It's Good to Be Home," sponsored by the two organizations and held during March-May. Area students, in grades one through eight, from the Greater Rochester and surrounding areas participated in the contest. The purpose of the contest was to mark the occasion of the credit union's move this spring to its newly constructed home at 225 Chestnut Street.

David L. Fiedler, President and Chief Executive Officer, ESL Federal Credit Union; Joe Flaherty, Executive Director, Writers & Books; and R. Carlos Carballada, Commissioner of Neighborhood and Business Development, City of Rochester, presented the awards to the students.

Entrants were asked to address two central ideas: "what does 'home' mean to you and how can you relate to the idea of returning home." Young people were asked to use the power of their words and imagination to produce a unique poem that celebrates their perception of home. A team of published writers judged the entries. Entries were placed into three separate age categories: first - second grades; third-fifth grades and sixth-eighth grades. One winner and one runner-up were selected from each of the three categories. First place win¬ners received a $100 savings bond provided by ESL. Both winners and runners-up received a letter of commendation, had their poems recorded in the "Poetry Booth" outside of Writers & Books on University Avenue, and had their poems published online at http://wab.org/events/eslpoetry.shtml

Winners and runners-up are:

First-second grade age category: first place winner, Jenna Prosperi, second grade, Brooks Hill Elementary School, Fairport; runner-up, Avery Garratt, first grade, Council Rock Primary School, Brighton

Third-fifth grade age category: first place winner, Yawen Ding, third grade, French Road Elementary School, Brighton; runner-up, Anna Raynor, fifth grade, Iroquois Middle School, West Irondequoit

Sixth-eighth grade category: first place winner, Taisha Marrero, seventh grade, School of the Arts, Rochester; runner-up, Lauren Morehouse, eighth grade, Union Springs Middle School, Union Springs

Founded in 1981, Writers & Books is one of the nation's oldest and largest community-based literary centers. Our mission is to promote reading and writing as life-long activities for people of all ages and backgrounds. We strongly believe that the written and spoken word play essential roles in the personal and cultural life of our community. Writers & Books is a non-profit organization that reaches a broad spectrum of people in the greater Rochester area. Each year approximately 25,000 people, including 5,000 children, participate in our readings, workshops, discussions, and writing classes. This is the highest per-capita reach of any literary center in the entire country. Writers & Books is located at 720 University Avenue and can be found on the Internet at www.wab.org

Founded by George Eastman in 1920, ESL Federal Credit Union is a full-service financial institution with $3.9 billion in assets. ESL employs more than 600 people locally and has more than 300,000 members world-wide. Access to the credit union includes 20 branch locations and more than 42 ATM locations, a Tele-Banking Center, and Internet and online banking channels. The company is headquartered at 225 Chestnut Street, in Rochester, and can be found on the Internet at www.esl.org.