Author Archives: Brenda S. Smith

Finally, after MUCH deliberation, we have a winner for the American Spirit Publishing 2007 Priceless Pets Photo Contest! Cameron Richmond from Glendora, CaliforniaPhoto features her cat Chamberlain looking out the window…with his paw on the drawstring for the blinds or window shade. Priceless! Chamberlain has helped Cameron win a $500 scholarship. Thank you for all the entries. We had several other finalists that received smaller prizes including the book entitled The Best Kept Secrets for Winning Scholarships, which can be ordered from Amazon.com. The runner-up, Weston Mullens from Mansfield, Texas, received a $100 prize.

This year American Spirit Publishing will sponsor another $500 scholarship – the Priceless Pet Pics Photo Contest! So we want you to send us your favorite cute, funny, adorable, remarkable, puzzling, priceless pet photos. We don’t care if you have a dog, cat, horse, iguana, skunk, snake, zebra, tarantula, or something else as your pet; if you love them and think it’s a good photo, then send it in. With your photo, you can send us a short caption. For now, please mail the applications to us. Soon we hope to have a way to submit your application electronically. Click here for the application:American Spirit Publishing Priceless Pet Pics 2007 PDFAmerican Spirit Publishing Priceless Pet Pics 2007 Word / RTF

We have a winner!!! Sorry for the delay, but we had thousands of entries again so it was extremely difficult to choose a winner. That’s why we had 5 finalists in addition to the winner this year. The winner received $500 and each of the finalists received an award as well. Congratulations to everyone, and we look forward to seeing your entries in December! Genovefa Castiglione Weston, FL Winner Felicia Kulp Ellicott City, MD Finalist Daniel Owen Comite Swampscott, MA Finalist Mark D. Pillor Bowie, MD Finalist David Miner Louisville, KY Finalist Andrew Fruth Toledo, OH Finalist

Once again, American Spirit Publishing wants to see your “portrait”, your vision of America! Last year’s entries were breathtaking and restored hope in America for us. Many things are going on in the world – famine, war, new life, blending of cultures, and happy times, too. How do you see America? Share with us an original photograph or photo of your artwork that conveys a sense of “America” as you see it. This is intentionally very open ended. Creativity wins points. The winner receives a $500 cash award. Please print, complete, and mail the application form along with your entry to the address on the application. Please postmark your entry by June 1, 2007. Only U.S. citizens are eligible for this award. Good luck, and we can’t wait to see your entries. American Spirit Publishing 2007 Portrait of America Scholarship – HTMLAmerican Spirit Publishing 2007 Portrait of America Scholarship – MS WordAmerican Spirit Publishing 2007 Portrait of America Scholarship – Text

Finally, we have the results for you! We had some technical difficulties with our site so we apologize for the delay. We received some outstanding and oh-so-cute photos… and some downright scary ones, too. Thanks to all who participated, and congratulations to our winners. Winner: Annie Liu from Oakland, CA with her “On Top of My World” photo with her dog Runner-up: A.J. Bradshaw of North Richland Hills with his Texas Longhorns pug Thanks again, and please remember to participate in the 2007 Portrait of American contest. Applications must be obtained from the website and postmarked by June 1, 2007.

This year American Spirit Publishing will sponsor a new $500 scholarship – the Priceless Pet Pics Photo Contest! So we want you to send us your favorite cute, funny, adorable, remarkable, puzzling, priceless pet photos. We don’t care if you have a dog, cat, horse, iguana, skunk, snake, zebra, tarantula, or something else as your pet; if you love them and think it’s a good photo, then send it in. With your photo, you can send us a short caption. For now, please mail the applications to us. Soon we hope to have a way to submit your application electronically. Include the following: priceless pet photo caption including your pet’s name your name and age your email address your home address and phone number Mail to: American Spirit PublishingATTN: 2006 Priceless PetsPO Box 120937Arlington, TX 76012 Eligibility: All current public, private, or home schooled high school students who who are US citizens are eligible for this $500 scholarship award. Please postmark your entry to us by December 1, 2006.

We loved them all; it was so hard to choose! Your creativity is awe inspiring. Please nourish it throughout your college career and beyond! Ok, so here’s the news you’ve been waiting for… $500 WinnerLisa Ann KingLongmont, Colorado FinalistsZachary Lovelace of Woodbridge, VirginiaBrady Thomas Overacre of Kimberly, IdahoAndrew Propp of Falls Church, VirginiaTessa Reynolds of Grandview, Texas Congratulations everyone! Don’t forget – our new scholarship contest details will be published soon! We will have a pet photo contest so take pictures of your dog, cat, hamster, turtle, horse, pig, or whatever!

Thank you to everyone this year for all the wonderful essays! You truly move us with your inspired writing. We laugh, we cry, and we are amazed by so many of the essays. Choosing a winner is so difficult, but alas, we must. This year’s winner and runner up are: Winner – $500Isabel Sokol-OxmanHillsboro High SchoolCornelius, Oregon Runner upJulia Siegfriedt-WilsonChristian Academy of LouisvilleLouisville, Kentucky The winners of the Portrait of America photo contest will be announced soon. Also, we will ahve the details of the next scholarship contest, soon. I’ll give you a “sneak peek”, though. It will be the “Priceless Pet Pics” photo contest! Start taking photos of your pets today!

This is just a quick update to inform everyone that we are in the final process of selecting the scholarship winners. We had a wonderful response this year. Thank you to everyone! We will announce the winners this week so stay tuned! ~Brenda

Many people have asked me how they can order the book if they can’t attend one of my scholarship workshops. It’s pretty easy, really. We tried to make it as convenient as possible. Order from our web site by clicking here. The order will be processed by PayPal, and we will ship it the next business day. Order from Amazon. They will ship it within a few business days depending on your shipping preference. Go to the UCLA Boookstore – this will probably only be convenient for those of you in LA… unless you’re a teleporter! Go to the UT-Arlington Bookstore – good if you’re in the Dallas area And, of course, you can always buy one at my workshops. I hope that helps. Please contact us if you have any problems! ~Brenda