Photography – Morris Burchette
A well-known local photographer, Mr. Burchette is the owner of Burchette Photography in Norton, Virginia and a judge of local photography exhibitions, including last year’s EXPLORATIONS Arts Photography competition.

Essays – Michael Chitwood
Born and raised in the Saltville, Virginia community, Michael Chitwood is a poet, teacher, and free-lance writer living in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. A regular commentator on public radio, Chitwood is also the author of three books of poetry—Salt Works (1992), Whet (1995) and Weave Room (1998), as well as a book of essays entitled Hitting Below the Bible Belt, published in 1998.

Short Stories –Lisa Koger
Lisa Koger was the featured author at the 2002 John Fox Jr. Festival here at MECC and delighted the audience with her fond remembrances of reading Fox’s writing as a child and with her humorous short story. Her debut short fiction collection, Farlanburg Stories, published by Norton garnered excellent reviews, and she is in wide demand as a workshop leader and teacher. Her short stories, essays, and reviews have appeared in many periodicals, including Seventeen, The New York Times Book Review, and Ploughshares. Koger has received many awards including the first place award in the annual short fiction competition sponsored by the Appalachian Writer’s Association in 1986 and l987 and the James A. Michener Award from the Iowa Writer’s Workshop in 1989.

Poetry – Michael McFee
The Bowman and Gordan Gray Distinguished Professor of English at the University of North Carolina, Michael McFee is the author of six collections of poetry and the editor of two anthologies. His most recent book of poetry, Earthly, was published by the Carnegie Mellon University Press in 2001. McFee was honored by Emory & Henry College as the featured writer in their annual Appalachian Literature Conference in 2002. The North Carolina Literary and Historical Association awarded him the Roanoke-Chowan Award for Poetry for 2001, and he has received two awards from the University of North Carolina recognizing his excellent teaching and artistic achievements.

Drawing – Ray Stratton
An artist for over fifteen years, Mr. Stratton has been a faculty member at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise for five years. He received his Master of Fine Arts degree from the Glasgow School of Art in Glasgow, Scotland, and his work has been featured in nationally juried exhibitions.