At Heidi's insistence, I wrote the following letter to be read during
afternoon announcements to express my gratitude to the Uniontown
students who participated in this weekend’s literary festival, held at
the Uniontown Mall:
I would like to thank the writers and sponsors of the UHS Tomahawk Talk
for their support of the inaugural Pennsylvania Literary Festival—the
first of its kind to be held in the entire state of Pennsylvania. The
event brought in writers, publishers, artists,
and readers from all over the United States, and Pennsylvania Governor
Tom Corbett sent state librarian Stacey Aldrich as his personal
representative. Ms. Aldrich was so impressed by the festival that she
offered the state library in Harrisburg as a possible location to host
next year’s event.
I would
especially like to thank the Uniontown High School students and alumni
who visited, bought books, talked to authors and publishers, and
participated in workshops. Your presence at this event is what made it
special. I was very lucky to be part of a team that consisted of three
Uniontown graduates—Matthew Dowling, Dave Slusarick, and my wife, Heidi
Ruby Miller. One of our primary goals for creating this festival was to
showcase Uniontown and its people and you did not disappoint!
When an author or publisher asked about the kids they saw participating
in the workshops I was very happy to be able to say that you were
Uniontown students. It takes a lot of courage to be able sit through a
class with professional writers—some of whom were more than four or five
times your age. But taking that huge step in pursuit of something you
love shows that you have the guts and desire to succeed, no matter what
you chose to do after you leave UHS.
Many, many thanks,
Jason Jack Miller
