Last weekend, I photographed an annual tradition in Hartland — the Famous Roast Beef Supper at the First Congregational Church for a Valley News story. Started in 1966, the dinner is held on six consecutive Saturdays and is put together by volunteers from the church and the community. It was inspiring to see everyone pitching in for a good cause! Follow this link to read the story.

From top: Volunteer hostess Linda Genovese, of Hartland, Vt., checks her list of diners to be seated. Instead of waiting in line, this year diners listened to piano music in the sanctuary; Volunteers Ali DeCuollo, left, and Jean Day, both of Hartland, laugh about their hands cramping while helping to peel 150 pounds of potatoes for the supper. Day has been helping since 1968 — this year is DeCuollo’s first; Gordon Barbour, right, of Windsor, Vt., enjoys his meal with his sisters as volunteer server Stub Fernandez, left, of Hartland, hustles to refill a serving platter; From left, kitchen crew volunteers Rhonda Lamica, Harriet Dumas, Carmen Summarsell, Pat Richardson and Mike French (in background), all of Hartland, laugh about the gag prize — a cookbook “Cooking in the Nude” — Dumas won for having the closest guess to the evening’s turnout of 229. Leftover rolls were sold after church the next day and beef, rolls and gravy were part of a meal church members put together on Tuesday for the Hixon House, an adult homeless shelter at the Upper Valley Haven; Diners head home after attending the annual Famous Roast Beef Supper. Two-hundred sixty pounds of rolled prime rib beef, 100 dozen rolls, 150 pounds of potatoes and 45 pies are prepared for each of the meals held on six consecutive Saturdays.

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Lately, I’ve been working several night shifts at the Valley News, filling in for staff photographer absences. Arriving home bleary-eyed is not much fun, but I do enjoy photographing sports for its drama and the challenge to see the usual in a new way. Here’s a few of my favorites:

From top: Windsor’s Ben Meagher drives through the Newport defense by (from left) Ethan Houde, Cole McNamara John Thibault and Noah Wood in the third quarter in Windsor, Vt.; Dartmouth’s Eleni Tebano (9) challenges Cornell’s Valerie Audet for control of the puck at center ice early in the second period of their Ivy League game in Hanover, N.H.; Thetford’s Danielle Robinson (4) vies for a rebound with Windsor’s Ashleay Wilcox, left, and Anika Abrahamsen in the first half of the game in Thetford, Vt.; Long Trail’s Will McCullough (12) splits the defense by Sharon’s Harvey Kelley (21) and Joshua Amodeo in the second half of the game in Sharon, Vt.; Lisa Johnson, of Hanover, N.H., center, Eric Colberg, of Lyme, N.H., second from right, and Steve Kahl, of Hanover, right, work as volunteer markers on the 20-meter jump at a five-team meet in Hanover. Their children also compete on the Hanover High School team.; Oxbow’s Shirley Hayward draws a charge from Montpelier’s Maggie Barbero-Menzel while pressing in the first quarter of their game in Bradford, Vt.; Hartford sophomore forward Jasmine Wilson is congratulated by her teammates after scoring a hat trick against North Country-Lyndon in White River Junction, Vt.; Hartford sophomore Cole Gardner-Buisson watches his roll progress while warming up with his teammates before the start of a four-team match in Springfield, Vt.

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Last weekend, I photographed the Mr. TA Pageant for a Valley News photo page. The Thetford Academy event is a silly spoof of beauty pageants but is also a fundraiser to help Rwandan students receive a high school education. The fifth annual pageant rasied a record $6,400, enough to help 10 Rwandan students! Follow this link to see more work in the Photo Galleries section of the newspaper’s web site.

From top: Thetford Academy junior Colombe Kayihura rehearses a traditional Rwandan dance with classmates during a rehearsal. The pageant is an annual fundraiser for Rwandan children’s education — an anonymous donor paid for Kayihura’s flight to the United States and she is spending the school year on campus; From left, seniors Reshma Rampersaud and Maggie Harlow, Kayihura and sophomores Owen Deffner and Aiden Cudhea (dressed as the Panther masot) laugh at one of the dance numbers during a rehearsal; Senior Noah Perry demonstrates his favorite dance move during the Meet the Contestants portion of the pageant. Perry’s escort, senior Hannah Harkins, is at right; Dressed as Melania Trump, Owen Deffner tells the same jokes his brother and fellow contestant Eamon Deffner told a few minutes before; Shirtless following the talent portion of the show, senior Mitchell Higgins, second from right, his dancers, from left, juniors Dylan Thorburn and Nick Moses and sophomore Aiden Cudhea and escort senior Reshma Rampersaud plead for cash votes. Audience members voted for contestants with donations to the Raise Rwanda charity, with $6,400 raised in donations and ticket sales; Junior Eli Kaliski reacts as classmate Gabrielle Curtis is named the winner of the Mr. TA Pageant. Started in 2011 as a spoof of beauty pageants to raise money for Rwandan children’s education, Curtis entered this year to spoof the spoof; Curtis is congratulated by friends on the stage after winning the pageant.

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