Winners of the Will Rogers Writing Contest sponsored by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists have been announced.

     George Waters of Pasadena, Calif., won first place with his essay, “A 21st Century Rope Trick”, a humorous commentary on high technology in today’s society.

     Eileen Mitchell of Palatine, Ill., was the second-place winner with an entry titled "Sick of Germs", about bird flu and other new diseases.     

     Marie Hawk of Oroville, Wash., placed third with "Happy Trails", which related to the threat of spinach and other farm crops.

     Steven K. Gragert, Interim Director of the Will Rogers Memorial Museums in Claremore, Okla., served as the final judge of the contest.  He said he was "impressed by the overall quality" of the entries. 

     “If alive today, Will would face some tough competition,” Gragert said.

     Read the winning entries at   http://home.earthlink.net/~bobhaught/willrogersok_whatsnew/id2.html

     Waters won a free $250 registration to the Will Rogers Writers’ Workshop, to be held March 15-17, 2007 at the Renaissance Convention Center Hotel in Oklahoma City.  The workshop is being presented by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists in partnership with the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop at the University of Dayton, Ohio.

     Mitchell’s win netted a half-price registration worth $125.  Hawk is entitled to a $50 discount on the registration fee.

     Other writers among the top 10 finalists included Gene Allen, Oklahoma City; Lynette K. G. Sheffield, Bend, Ore.; Ed Tasca, Toronto, Ont.; Johnnie  Wingo, Holdenville, Okla.; Bill Walraven, Corpus Christi, Tex.; Artie Knapp, Cincinnati, Ohio; and Kathleen Vallee Stein, Monrovia, Calif.

     The nationwide contest to find the best example of Will Rogers' style of writing drew entries from 17 states and one Canadian province.  Submissions ranged from a wide aea of the country - from California to Massachusetts, from Michigan to Texas, from Oregon to Tennessee.