LaRoche Memorial Poetry Contest
Every year, the winner of the James and Christian LaRoche Memorial Poetry Contest is awarded a cash prize of $100 at the college's Student Awards Day ceremony. The winning poem is also published in Blackwater Review.
For almost 30 years the LaRoche name has been associated with poetry at Northwest Florida State College. In 1986, Christian LaRoche instituted the James N. LaRoche Memorial Poetry Contest to honor her late husband, who was a poet and an instructor at the college from 1968-1983. The name was changed after the death of Christian LaRoche. At that time, the LaRoches’ son, Frederic, changed the name to the James and Christian LaRoche Memorial Poetry Contest in honor of both of his parents and their commitment to the writing arts.
Here is a list of winners published in Blackwater Review in the past nine years:
- 2013, Emily Heasley for her poem "Logged in on LIVE"
- 2012, Madelyn Mancera for her poem "Twenty"
- 2011, James Birdson for his poem "Welcoming You"
- 2010, Laurie Sambenedetto for her poem "Frequent Banqueter"
- 2009, Kyle Webb for his poem "Curse of the Crooner"
- 2008, Thomas Leighton for his poem "Last Call"
- 2007, Daniel Baker for his poem "Wish for Remembrance"
- 2006, Caitlin Pierson for her poem "Merry-Go-Round Memory"
- 2005, Caitlin Pierson for her poem "Mississippi Midnight" (2005 Issue)
- 2004, Michael A. Burke for his poem "Crown for Silence" (2005 Issue)
- 2003, Jessica Paliza for her poem "Silver String" (2005 Issue)
- 2002, Melanie E. Coerver for her poem "Poem for a Straight Girl" (2005 Issue)
- 2001, Stephanie C. Duurvoort for her poem "Birth of Abstract" (2005 Issue)
The contest is held every spring term and is open to all NWFSC students who do not yet have an undergraduate degree.