Elliot Davidson , a Sophomore at Lewisburg Area High School, Union County, won the state finals of the 2014 “Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest.” Governor Tom Corbett and First Lady Susan Corbett hosted the competition at the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg on March 10, 2014.

Davidson will represent Pennsylvania at the national championship to be held in Washington, D.C. April 28-30, competing for a total of $50,000 in scholarships and school stipends, with at least one $20,000 college scholarship.

Second place went to Anna Voelker, a Senior at Hampton High School in Allegheny County.

Poetry Out Loud is part of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA)’s ongoing efforts to foster educational excellence for Pennsylvania’s students through participation in the creative process. Created by the National Endowment for the Arts and The Poetry Foundation, the Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest encourages the nation’s high school youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and recitation.  The PCA collaborates with fourteen regional partners who administer the regional competitions from the classroom to the state championship level.