Berkshire Athenaeum Short Story Contest Winners

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Athenaeum, Pittsfield's Public Library, and the Friends of the Berkshire Athenaeum announced the winners of the 46th Annual Short Story Writing Contest for Children and the 27th Annual Short Story Writing Contest for Young Adults.
 
Entries were combined into five age categories with a total of 28 submissions. A committee of judges read through the submissions and rated the entries on originality, appeal, writing style, and artwork, if applicable. All short story submissions are on display in the Children's Library now through September 21, 2024. The winning submissions are also displayed on the library's website.
 
When asked about his experience as a judge for this year's contest, Jon Wynn said, "I was both honored by the opportunity to judge and impressed by the high quality of the submissions. This year's Short Story Contest included wonderful storytelling and compelling artwork; I'm looking forward to coming back next year to sample more great tales!"
 
2024 winners of the Annual Short Story Writing Contest for Children and Young Adults:
  • Children Age 6
    • 1st place: "What is Hairy's Favorite Season?" by Sage Saldo
    • 2nd place: "The Keeper of the Books" by Evelyn Morin
  • Children Age 7 – 8
    • 1st place: "Hazel and the Gnomes" by Hazel Rodd
    • 2nd place: "The Bedroom Secret" by Talia Crowe
    • 2nd place: "The Wild Monkeys" by Maribella Morin
    • Honorable Mention: "Sage and Stella's Adventure" by Chloe Mishk
  • Children Age 9 – 10
    • 1st place: "Almost Perfect" by Bodhi Goodman-Wu
    • 2nd place: "The Day My Snow Creature Came to Life" by Lucy Simonelli
    • Honorable Mention: "The Tale of How Sometimes the Feeling of Being Watched Can Turninto a Beautiful Friendship" by Sasha Hughes
  • Young Adults Age 11 – 14
    • 1st place: "A Friend Under My Bed" by Suzy Schoeny
    • 2nd place: "The Imagination Fort" by Nora Schoeny
    • Honorable Mention: "The King of Midnight" by Madeleine Love
  • Young Adults Age 15 – 18
    • 1st place: "No Visible End" by Olivia Caraccioli
    • 2nd place: "Gone But Not Forgotten" by Gloria Williams
    • Honorable Mention: "Black Out" by Evelyn Rathbun
 

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Soccer Hall of Fame Adds Members, Awards Scholarships

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- The 2026 CIAO Soccer Hall of Fame induction ceremony took place at Berkshire Hills Country Club on Thursday.
 
The Hall of Fame's mission is to preserve the sport's history in Berkshire County, to honor excellence within the game and to make a connection between the generations that bring communities together. With players who last played on a soccer field in Berkshire County in the 1960s to the scholarship winners at the banquet on May 14th who played their last high school game in the fall of last year, we are achieving our goal. 
 
It is worth noting that this class of inductees is stellar. We have four County MVP selections, 14 All-Berkshire selections, eight All-Western Mass selections and, and nine captain honors, five four-year varsity starters and one five-year varsity starter. 
 
The players were introduced by committee chairmen Al Belanger and Patrick West. The scholarship winners were introduced by Chris Dumas, a member of the CIAO Soccer Hall of Fame committee. The photographer for the evening was Ricco Fruscio. Over the past 21 years, the scholarships awarded to high school seniors in Berkshire County have topped $250,000.  
 
The 2026 Inductees:
Katie Dumas Sturm (Wahconah 2015) was a hard-nosed, and relentless four-year starter for Wahconah. She was a two-year captain in the middle of the field, scoring and assisting on clutch goals in big games. She was rewarded with being named All Berkshire, and All Western Mass in her senior year. She is married to Brent Sturm (who is also being inducted into the hall of fame this year) and has a son Banks and a 7-week-old Everett Michael. She works at General Dynamics. 
 
Brent Sturm (Wahconah 2009) was named to the All Berkshire Team in both his junior and senior years and won a Western Mass championship during his time at Wahconah. He also went on to have a stellar career at Wentworth Institute. He and his wife, Katie, are the first husband and wife inductees into the CIAO Soccer Hall of Fame in the same year.  After college, he helped coach the Wahconah Soccer and basketball teams. He works at General Dynamics.
   
Nicole Gamberoni (Lenox 2019) was an impact player on her team for five years while at Lenox making All-Berkshire teams four times. She was captain twice, finished with 107 points, and was the league MVP two times. She also went on to play soccer at AIC. She is working at Lenox High School while she is getting her master’s degree. 
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