Middlebury Writer Wins Ralph Nading Hill Writing Contest

Caleb Daniloff of Middlebury, Vermont, is the winner of
the 2005 Ralph Nading Hill, Jr. literary prize awarded annually by
Green Mountain Power (NYSE:GMP) and Vermont Life magazine.
   Mr. Daniloff's winning essay, entitled "Urgent Conversations at 5
a.m.," evokes the spiritual sensations of a pre-dawn run: "In this
early dawn, I am the only human soul, a nightwatchman. I am privy to
dark intimate pulses and beats, ancient cycles of nature known mostly
to farmers and hunters."
   Mr. Daniloff, a life-long writer who took up running a few years
ago after giving up smoking, said, "Because of work, I have to get up
early to run. Which was hard at first. But soon I found running a dirt
road, alone in the dark, a transformative experience - the different
smells and sounds you come across, the testing of physical limits, the
faith required when your eyesight is your weakest sense. It becomes
spiritual - your relationship with the road, with the run, with your
surroundings."
   Tom Slayton, one of the judges and editor of Vermont Life
commented, "Mr. Daniloff's essay stood out because he was able to
express his thoughts and feelings precisely, and tie them directly to
his particular place in Vermont. The piece uses specific details to
express the universal - all in the relatively commonplace context of
an early morning run. We are delighted to publish Mr. Daniloff's essay
in the fall issue of Vermont Life." The fall issue of Vermont Life
will available in bookstores and newsstands in late-August.
   Mr. Daniloff, 35, graduated from the University of Vermont in 1994
and received a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative non-fiction
writing from Columbia University in 1999. A former newspaper reporter,
he works as a copywriter at Burch & Company in Burlington. He remains
a freelance writer who has written for the New York Times, The Boston
Globe and The Rutland Herald. He also reviews books for Publishers
Weekly and is a regular commentator for Vermont Public Radio. More
information is available at his website, www.calebdaniloff.com.
   Mr. Daniloff 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. Mr. Daniloff will receive the award at a ceremony
to be held later this summer. This is the seventeenth 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, Green Mountain Power's Senior Vice
President, Corporate and Legal Affairs.
   The deadline for entries for this year's contest is November 15,
2005. 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.