Catered block party awaits winners

Many people might find it a little nerve-wracking to write to a newspaper, for myriad reasons.

But imagine the rewards of winning our annual Good Neighbor Contest: A van full of food and tables pulls up and offers a catered block party for all your neighbors. Plus, you’ve finally found a way to repay the neighbor who has done so much for you.

Before starting to compose a letter nominating that good neighbor, you may want to check out these tips from Lisa Wolverton, our newspaper’s Letters to the Editor coordinator.

Follow directions. The rules for the contest are that you must submit a letter that is 250 words or less. You should stick to that.

“Stay focused,” Wolverton said. Many letter writers add details that are not relevant to the rest of the letter. You must be clear and stay on track.

Get help. Have a friend read your letter.

“If your friend can understand it,” she said, “then I can.”

Type it. Wolverton noted that many times submissions are hand-written. The nice stationery may keep her entertained, and she does appreciate the effort, but handwriting is sometimes hard to read, which may cause a misinterpretation of the letter.

Plus, if the letter is typed, chances are good that it was composed in some sort of word-processing program, which can pick out spelling and grammatical errors.

Instructions: To praise your neighbor, send us a letter that tells us about his or her good qualities.

The letter should be 250 words or less and should include your neighbor’s name, phone number and address.

You should also tell us if you live in the North Side, South Side or Valley.

We also need to know who you are. We’ll need your name and phone number.

You can send your nomination to Good Neighbor Contest, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210.

If you prefer e-mail, send it to voice@spokesman.com.

The deadline is Aug. 1.