Vital

Portland, Ind. fifth grader Miriah Archibold-Lewis has earned Grand Prize in this year’s POET Tree contest with a poem detailing the look, feel and sound of a rainstorm, “The Thunder’s Roar.”

Sioux Falls, S.D. fifth grader Bailey Banwart placed second in the contest.

More than 1,200 poems were submitted by fifth graders across the Midwest in the effort, which challenged students to write a nature-themed poem in conjunction with Arbor Day.

POET Tree also included the planting of 2,750 trees by POET team and community members.

Nature’s ability to gather and transform energy from the sun is similar to what POET does each day. Tapping into that natural process through ethanol production was the inspiration for the POET Tree effort.

“We want to thank all the fifth graders who submitted poems for this year’s contest. It’s great to see the work of young people who clearly understand how nature is a part of our everyday lives,” POET Senior Vice President of Communications Greg Breukelman said.

The top five submissions received gift cards, and their work is published in the July issue of Vital magazine. The other winners are:

3rd place: Sydney Isbell, North Manchester, Ind.
4th place: Haley Lippert, Mitchell, S.D.
5th place: : Keegan Goodwin, Farnhamville, Iowa

The winning poem by Miriah Archibold-Lewis:

The Thunder's Roar
Boom,
Crash,
Bang!
I hear this noise while the rain,
Drip,
Drop,
Drops.
The thunder roars with the lightning's strike.
Sizzle.
Pop!
The rain brings water for all our crops.
Drip,
Drip.
The rain settles and the lightning stops.
Now there isn't anymore...
Boom,
Crash,
Bang,
Pop.

About POET
POET, the largest ethanol producer in the world, is a leader in biorefining through its efficient, vertically integrated approach to production. The 22-year-old company produces more than 1.6 billion gallons of ethanol and 9 billion pounds of high-protein animal feed annually from 26 production facilities nationwide. POET also operates a pilot-scale cellulosic ethanol plant, which uses corn cobs as feedstock, and will commercialize the process in Emmetsburg, Iowa. For more information, visit http://www.poet.com.

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