The following is the winning story which was first aired on "Virginia This Morning" on WTVR CBS Chanel 6.

WHAT IS YOUR PLATINUM LOVE STORY?
We've known each other well over half our lives. We've been together for 20 years. Yet I fall in love anew every day! When he tells me I'm beautiful - even though my hair is tussled and my make-up is gone. When he makes me laugh as he makes up super silly songs in the shower. When he sneaks up behind me in the kitchen and surprises me with a bear hug and kisses all over my neck and ears. When he tells me he loves me and thanks me for being a great wife and mom. When he reads Dr. Seuss to our son. When he brings me flowers for no special reason.

We first met in middle school, where we "went steady" and held hands in the milk line. We hung out in the gym after school and even carved our initials in a bench in front of the school. But, thanks to redistricting, we were separated and attended different high schools. Then my senior year, his family moved to my district. That year, I played Maria in our school's production of West Side Story. On opening night, I was taking some alone time on the bus ramp to focus and calm my nerves before curtain. He appeared. We made a few moments of small talk, and then, out of nowhere, he grabbed me, dipped me and kissed me. Afterwards, he walked away without a word!! I was stunned, and I was hooked. Years later, he shared that he did that because I was getting ready to graduate and he feared he'd never see me again, so he wanted me to know how he felt.

We didn't discuss the kiss. But he started hanging around my house, helping my Dad work on cars and such. He jogged 5 miles in two feet of snow to see me one afternoon. He asked me to his senior prom - as a friend. He took me home that night and said, "I know that we'll never be more than friends." I said, "Maybe there could be something more," kissed him goodnight and went inside. We had our first date on New Year's Eve 1989. Five years later, on New Year's Eve, on bended knee, he proposed. Again, I was stunned, and I was hooked. I accepted, and we went back to that bench in front of the school and found our initials that we had carved some 10 years earlier. We were married on October 22, 1995. During the ceremony, as a surprise for him, I sang One Hand, One Heart, from West Side Story as a tribute to our love and when it all began. 

We are soul mates. We are so closely connected that he feels changes in my energy even if we aren't in the same room. We are a team. He is my completion, and I his. There is no metal or gem stone precious enough to symbolize our love, but to call it platinum would be fair.