COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

P.O. BOX 2120

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA 23218-2120

PRINS. MEMO NO. 40

October 5, 2004

ELEMENTARY / MIDDLE / SECONDARY

TO:	Principals
FROM:	Linda M. Wallinger Assistant Superintendent for Instruction
SUBJECT:	Black History Month Essay Contest

Dominion Virginia Power and Dominion North Carolina Power are sponsoring a writing contest for African-American high school seniors in preparation for Black History Month. The winning student will receive a $1,000 United States Savings Bond and the student’s school will receive a cash award of $1,000.

Students must select one of the individuals featured in Dominion’s “Strong Men and Women: Excellence in Leadership” materials and write a 300-word essay about this individual and why he or she deserves respect and recognition as a leader. Each school may submit two entries. The entries should be mailed to: Minority Affairs, Dominion Virginia Power, P.O. Box 26666, Richmond, VA 23261. The entries must be received by November 15, 2004.

Additional information on the contest, the list of individuals, and further instructions are available through the Minority Affairs Office of Dominion Virginia Power at (804) 771-4797 or on its Web site at http://www.dom.com (key word “strong”).

For further information, please contact Betsy Barton (bbarton@mail.vak12ed.edu), history and social science specialist for elementary instruction, at (804) 225-3454.

LMW/BB