The 20th Annual Lincoln Essay Competition. One hundred and forty guests.  Every student voice heard clearly.

On May 17, 2026, Vermont’s eighth-grade essay winners came to Lincoln Hall for the awards luncheon of the 20th Annual Lincoln Essay Competition.  The year was the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, and the prompt asked students to take one liberty or principle from that document, connect it to a current issue, and say whether the principle was being upheld or worn down, including in their own lives.  Essays had to be 500 words or fewer, and they were due February 12.  Hildene received 147 submissions from four regions of the state.  First place in each region received $500, second place $400, third place $300, and three honorable mentions received $200 each.  About 140 students, families, teachers, and neighbors filled the room.

Three large screens carried the program: custom graphics for each regional award category, looping branded content through the reception, then a clean handoff into the ceremony.  Multiple sources ran at once — laptop inputs, video playback, live switching — so every transition felt intentional.  A looping welcome slideshow ran as guests arrived; holding slides kept the displays quiet between segments.  Nothing on screen ever looked accidental.

Audio was a six-speaker distributed system — two mains, two center fills, two delays — so every student at the podium was heard clearly from the front row to the back.  Two LED ellipsoidal fixtures on stands lit the stage for the room and for camera.  We worked directly with GNAT, feeding them clean audio and production support for a full-event recording.  We’ve supported this program in this hall long enough that consistency is the point.