Fort Fairfield student
wins statewide essay contest
Seth Woodman
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
FORT FAIRFIELD — Though only in the seventh grade, Seth Woodman has some ideas on how he would change his hometown if he were in charge.
The 13-year-old, who attends Fort Fairfield Middle/High School, would get the people’s opinion on what they would like to see happen with the town, and propose the idea of constructing a new building in town where small businesses could rent out their own shops.
Those were just two of the ideas that led the Maine Municipal Association to choose Woodman’s essay (see related story) as one of four statewide winners in the MMA’s first-ever essay contest, which carried the theme, “If I Led My Community …”
Part of MMA’s Citizen Education program, the contest asked students to demonstrate how they would improve their hometowns and cities if they held positions of local leadership. More than 100 essays were submitted from middle school students across the state. Essays were judged based on knowledge of municipal government, writing quality and clarity, and originality.
As one of the winners, Woodman will receive a framed certificate and a $250 prize to be used for educational purposes.
“It’s definitely going to help with college,” he said, noting that he hopes to study electrical engineering. “That was pretty much the main reason I entered the contest.
“We were writing essays of a similar topic in language arts class and my teacher [Paul Lamoreau] gave us the option of entering the essays in the contest because they met the criteria,” said Woodman. “I figured, ‘Why not enter?’ A $250 savings bond is a pretty good incentive.”
Woodman said the MMA notified both his teacher and Town Manager Dan Foster that he had won.
“The town manager called my Dad originally, and then I got a letter in the mail inviting me to read the essay at the May 16 Town Council meeting,” said Woodman. “This was the first time I’ve won anything for my writing. Writing is definitely an interest of mine. When we go to write in class, it’s one of my favorite things to do in school.
“When my family found out I had won, they were pretty happy,” he said. “They didn’t announce the winners for quite a few months, so my family had kind of forgotten that I had entered it.”
Christopher Lockwood, executive director of the MMA, said he was very pleased with the response to the essay contest.
“This essay contest affords a unique opportunity to engage our younger citizens in understanding the value and importance of becoming involved in their local communities. We offer our congratulations to the winners,” he said.
The winning entries also will be published in the May issue of the Maine Townsman, MMA’s monthly publication, which is mailed to 4,500 municipal officials statewide.
MMA’s Citizen Education program aims to educate citizens of all ages about the importance, accessibility and effectiveness of municipal government.
