Craftsbury Writer Wins Ralph Nading Hill Writing Contest

Julia Shipley of Craftsbury, Vermont, is the winner of
the 2006 Ralph Nading Hill, Jr. literary prize awarded annually by
Green Mountain Power (NYSE:GMP) and Vermont Life magazine.
   Ms. Shipley, 34, lives and teaches in Craftsbury. She is head of
the Writing Program at Sterling College in Craftsbury. Like many
Vermonters, she does a little farming on the side. She keeps dairy
cows herself and raises cows for families who want a cow to milk.
   "In this life, I care very much about two things," she said
recently, "writing and farming."
   Ms. Shipley's winning essay, entitled "Coming into the Barn: Bales
of Prose about a Small Dairy Farm," combines those two loves with
another - it describes her relationship with a northern Vermont
dairyman with whom she fell in love while working on his farm. Her
essay also focuses on the immense amount of hard work it takes to
milk, maintain, and care for a herd of dairy cattle.
   Tom Slayton, one of the judges and editor of Vermont Life
commented, "Ms. Shipley's essay was selected as the winner because of
its perceptive reporting, and beautiful writing. Julia Shipley's prose
manages to be both precise and lyrical - an unusual combination, but
one suited precisely to her subject."
   "Coming into the Barn" will be published in the fall issue of
Vermont Life, which will available in bookstores and on newsstands in
late-August.
   Ms. Shipley grew up in Wayne, Pennsylvania and graduated from
Lesley College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with a bachelor's degree
in environmental education. She received a master's degree in creative
writing and literature from Bennington College in Bennington, Vermont.
   Ms. Shipley will receive a $1,500 prize for the essay. The
literary prize is named for the late Ralph Nading Hill, Jr., a Vermont
historian and writer and long-time member of Green Mountain Power's
Board of Directors. Ms. Shipley will receive the award at a ceremony
to be held this fall. This is the eighteenth year the literary prize
has been awarded. Green Mountain Power will publish a book with all
the winners after the 20th prize has been awarded.
   The Ralph Nading Hill literary prize is now considered by Vermont
writers to be one of the state's premier literary prizes. Entries may
include essays, short stories and poetry.
   The selection was made by an independent panel of judges: Tom
Slayton, editor of Vermont Life; Ruth Page, author and long-time
friend of Mr. Hill; Alison Freeland, a 1994 winner of the Ralph Nading
Hill, Jr., award for her story, Shadbush; Brian Vachon, Vice President
of Communications at National Life of Vermont and a former Vermont
Life editor; and Steve Terry, retired Green Mountain Power senior
executive.
   The deadline for entries for this year's contest is November 15,
2006. The contest is open to all Vermont residents, including seasonal
residents and college students enrolled in Vermont colleges. Entrants
may be amateur or professional writers. The focus of the work must be
"Vermont--Its People, the Place, Its History or Its Values." Entries
must be unpublished and less than 3,000 words long. Staff of Vermont
Life or Green Mountain Power and previous winners are ineligible. Send
entries to the Corporate Relations Department of Green Mountain Power,
163 Acorn Lane, Colchester, VT 05446.