Dianne Bernhard knows the importance that competitions play in developing a successful career. These juried exhibitions allow the best artists to show their work for the prospect of recognition and monetary reward. She had entered many of these contests throughout her own career, but as her work with the pastel movement continued as a priority she discovered that none of the major art competitions in America had a category fully dedicated to pastel. Even though there were many artists who were working almost exclusively in the medium. Knowing that her commitment to the renaissance of the medium would never have an impact if she didn’t do something to transform the way the art world perceived pastel, she contacted many of the most reputable organizations that juried such competitions and simply asked, "Why is there no category for pastel?" She learned that often pastel was relegated to a subcategory as if it were inferior to oil or watercolor. She quickly went to work to change this misconception and created a category just for pastels matching the amounts awarded to selected artists in the more traditionally accepted arenas of painting. Today she hopes young artists will take advantage of these opportunities to develop outstanding professional credentials to forward their careers.