Well, I finally heard back from SMIBE (I entered their Story About a Place competition in January)... and it turns out I took first place with another team of students from Michigan! I guess they couldn't decide which one should really take first, so both projects won. Sadly, this means I have to share the $500 prize... but I still get bragging rights! ;)
Anyway, um, check it out and feel free to post a comment on the discussion board!
http://www.smibe.org