epatterson posted on October 28, 2008 15:36
HYANNIS - The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO), has announced that the First Prize in the Essay Category for their 2008 Annual Photography/Writing/Film Contest has been awarded to Melissa Roberts Weidman, a local writer who serves as the Director of Communications and Community Outreach for Hospice & Palliative Care of Cape Cod (H & PCCC).
John Radulovic, Vice-President for Communications of NHPCO said, “Weidman’s essay, “How The Pieces Match,” is one of several high quality submissions we received this year. There were over 250 entries in all the combined categories and our judges had quite a job selecting the winning entries.”
The winners of the contest were posted and on display at NHPCO’s Clinical Team Conference in Dallas, TX, October 23-25, 2008. The winning photographs, essays, and poetry submissions, along with the names of the winning entries in the film/video category were displayed in the registration area and are posted on the Awards & Contests section of www.nhpco.org.
Founded in 1981, Hospice & Palliative Care of Cape Cod is the Cape’s first and largest hospice provider. Vice-President of Business Development Lise Lambert said, “To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time one of our staff has received a national award. We’ve always known Weidman’s writing was special – but it’s gratifying to receive this national recognition.”
Weidman, a Falmouth resident, has worked in communications at H & PCCC since 2005. Previously, she was Director of Communications for the Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen’s Association. She did her college work in creative writing at Bryn Mawr College, the State University of New York and Lesley College. She has taken writing workshops with many well-known writers, including Erica Jong, Sebastian Junger, Natalie Goldberg, Terry McMillan and Mark Doty, and is a founding member of the Heron’s Way Writer’s Circle, based in the Falmouth/Mashpee area. Weidman is also a freelance writer, musician and songwriter. Her essay “In the Groove of Spirit” is the lead article in the current issue of Cape Healing Arts Magazine (CHA).
Her winning NHPCO essay is a composite of vignettes about five different hospice patients. The last paragraph reads:
“Are any of these typical? No more so than the ways in which each of us shares our common biology. We are so distinctly unique that resemblances pale before our sublime variety. Yet, like squares in an elaborate quilt, our pieces match, despite contrasting patterns. No one knows when our time is come, though we all know it is inevitable. If we are lucky enough to be in a circumstance where our needs are fully met, we might step across the threshold in a way that illuminates the blessings of transformation.”
Weidman said “The stories of our patients, staff and volunteers move me deeply and I treat them with the greatest respect. If I am able to tell the story of hospice so that it connects with even just one person, I feel I have accomplished something vitally important.”
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Hospice & Palliative Care of Cape Cod is the area’s first and largest non-profit organization offering expert care, comfort and compassion for those in our community living with serious illness. Founded in 1981, it is unique in its exclusive dedication to providing a wide range of end of life programs and services. For more information call 508-957-0200 or go to www.hospicecapecod.org.