05/13/2026
WCCOA Announces the 2026 Poetry Contest Winners for its 20th Anniversary Edition
The Wood County Committee on Aging (WCCOA) would like to announce the winners for the 20th Annual Poetry Contest. Submissions were accepted from Wood County residents 50 years of age and over, with a theme of “Voices Unheard”. A total of 34 poems from 21 authors were submitted, and a BGSU writing professor and graduate students reviewed the submissions and selected a winner and an honorable mention.
Geoff Howes of Bowling Green is the first place with her poem entitled, “10 Months Later 1” and “10 Months Later 2” winning a $100 gift card sponsored by the Manor at Perrysburg.
Bowling Green State University Associate Writing Professor Chad Van Buskirk coordinated the students and professor who were this year’s judges of the contest. A special thank you to Professor Amorak Huey and his students Ann Vaughn, and Nathan Fako who are students in poetry at Bowling Green State University.
The poetry contest judges reflected on the poem “10 Months Later 1” and “10 Months Later 2” and stated on how these poems blew them away with their seeming effortlessness. The poems felt carefully considered from start to finish, with attention to detail, image, and language that came across as entirely organic and yet sophisticated in their consideration of deeply meaningful themes. They responded to the contests’ theme in subtle unexpected ways. The judges love both poems.
Howes stated that, “These poems in response to the death of a loved one fit the theme of "second glances" in several ways. In the first one, items that are just sitting around gain new meaning because they were left in that spot by the absent one, and the contents reveal aspects of their life. In the second one, a plant takes on new meaning by suggesting that all phases of life, not just death, can still be seen as present.”
Joseph DeMare of Bowling Green is the runner up with his poem entitled, “45-Year-Old Paper.” As a runner up he won a $50 gift card sponsored by Wood Haven Healthcare. The judges stated, “this poem stood out because of its very specific images. The way it catalogued a life, a memory, an entire relationship. This is a lovely and understated take on the theme of finding new meaning in familiar objects: how things around us accrue meaning over time.”
Honorable Mention was awarded to Stephen Peterson with poem “Porch Swing”, Carole Rinehart with the poem “My Favorite Place”, “Divine Transformation” by Dan Mellen, Catherine Cassara with the poem “How Does One Declutter a Life.” Congratulations to Stephen, Dan, Catherine, Carole, Goeff, Joseph. and thank you to everyone that participated in this year’s contest. We received many fantastic entries and look forward to sharing them with the community.
All the submitted poems can be read on the WCCOA blog at: https://woodcountycommitteeonaging.blogspot.com/
The mission of the Wood County Committee on Aging, Inc., shall be to provide older adults with services and programs which empower them to remain independent and improve the quality of their lives.
For information on programs and services, please contact the Wood County Committee on Aging, Inc., at (419) 353-5661, (800) 367-4935 or www.wccoa.net
# # #
WINNING POEMS ARE INCLUDED BELOW IN THEIR ENTIRETY:
Winning Poem
Ten Months Later 1
----------------------------------
Geoff Howes
still sitting by a bookcase in the back room
that Record Store Day tote bag
with green and red grooves
inside it a Funko Pop Space Ghost
a Mattel John Cena figurine
a small black plastic bag of
Christmas and birthday cards
mostly from your mother
some polaroids of a onetime couple
two or three old wedding invitations
a little damroo drum, red and green and yellow
the Lucky Peach Chicken Issue
the Batman Returns 30th anniversary issue
a Diesel Sweeties treasury
propped next to the tote
a large white envelope
from Job and Family Services
containing a Medicaid self-employment ledger
unfilled out
Ten Months later 2
----------------------------------
Geoff Howes
your life is like
a velvetleaf plant
with buds flowers
and dried pods
all visible
on one stem.
Runner Up
45 Year Old Paper
----------------------------------
Joseph DeMare
A pink and black cardboard box
once filled with wine
wrapped with shiny plastic tape
corners crumpled from many moves
Now filled with 45 year old papers.
A mix of taxes and folders
Comics and music books and
Literary magazines made by my friends
and me. Yellowed newsprint filled
with poetry, pretty photography, and hope.
With names like “Orpheus” and “Nexus”
Their words leap off the page at me
Freed from 45 years of sleeping
My own Eurydice
Wasted away years ago
by her own cells gone awry
Whispers to me again of
“red cream soda kisses” and
how she prefers
“jam on bread to paper.”
