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December 25, 2002

Leechburg girl wins card-design contest

From: Tarentum Valley News Dispatch, PA - 25 Dec 2002

By Stephanie Ritenbaugh
VND correspondent
Wednesday, December 25, 2002

A Leechburg girl placed first in a Christmas card design contest for a national closed-captioning company that sponsored the contest for the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf.

Danah Richter, 14, best portrayed the theme "The Joy of Giving" with her card depicting a pair of hands holding a globe wrapped in a bow. An eighth-grader at the school, Danah won a certificate and $50 for her artwork.

Danah also won the Christmas card design contest in 1998 for drawing a family of snowmen in the theme "Holidays: A Time for Family."

Her card this year will be the corporate Christmas card this year for VITAC, a national closed captioning firm that offers captioning services to broadcast outlets such as television networks, syndication, cable and educational program suppliers. ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, PBS, CNN, Discovery Channel and The Learning Channel are among its clients.

"She was thrilled," said Danah's mother, Charlene Richter. "She practiced the hands for two weekends. She wanted them to be perfect."

"She's been drawing since she was little. Her bedroom could supply an art school," Richter said.

The contest was offered to students in kindergarten through 12th grade, said Sue McAdoo, curriculum coordinator at Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, located in Swissvale.

Danah is saving the award money to go to space camp in Hunstville, Ala., with other hearing-impaired children in May.

copyright © 2002 by The Tribune-Review Publishing Co.