Families come in all shapes and sizes, face numerous challenges and, in the end, sometimes the people who love you the most don’t share any DNA.

Those were the sentiments expressed by some students in the Steel Valley School District in the essays they wrote for a contest sponsored by Green’s Funeral Home in Munhall, “What Family Means to Me.”

One student winner was chosen from each of the district’s four schools, Barrett and Park elementaries and the middle and high schools. Winners had their essays read at a recent school board meeting.

The younger students received $50 Barnes & Noble gift cards, while Ashley Wolford received a $100 check and the chance to have her essay entered into a national competition sponsored by Aurora Casket Co.

When senior Ashley, 17, — who was the winner from the high school — heard about the contest she knew it was her opportunity to pay tribute to her stepmother, Gina Wolford.

“The first thing that came to my mind was that I wanted to tell her how much she means to me,” Ashley said.

[ Full story available at: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08353/935734-55.stm ]