Gimme a v for v-i-c-t-o-r-y

"A Boy and His Dog" by Linda Williamson, whose photos are on display at Emerson Hospital in Concord.

Eleven-year-old Alison Heffler of Burlington said she began cheerleading four years ago for the Burlington Patriots Pop Warner football team because two of her friends were cheerleaders. Over time, however, the normally quiet and reserved fifth-grader discovered she enjoyed the confidence and "whole new side of me" that she experienced through the sport.

Alison and her 18 teammates on the Burlington Pop Warner Junior Pee Wee D1 cheerleading team recently returned from Florida, where the third- through sixth-graders captured their division title at the Pop Warner National Cheer and Dance Championships at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex. The Burlington Pop Warner Junior Midget cheerleading team, whose members are predominantly seventh- and eighth-graders, also won first place in that division.

While the Burlington Patriots football team had an eight-game fall season plus playoffs that extended through November, cheerleading practice was held four nights a week beginning in August. Alison, who also dances three nights a week, said the time commitment was demanding, but worthwhile.

"I was so happy and proud of my whole team when we won," Alison said. "From the beginning of the season, we got stronger but also closer as friends.

"Cheerleading is a fun sport to do, and if you want to try it, you should. You might not know how good you really can be."

FUN IN THE SUN: While Henry Toromoreno and Rose Mendonca were vacationing in Hawaii in July 2005, they noticed that nearly all the children - except theirs - were wearing swim shirts to protect them from the sun's harmful rays. They purchased swim shirts for their two sons and wondered long after returning to their home in Dunstable why such products are not more popular on the mainland.

Thanks to the couple's ingenuity, now they can be.

Toromoreno and Mendonca, who are full-time teachers, have launched Sunfish Swimwear Co., an online business providing children's swimwear made of materials tested to rate at an ultraviolet protection factor, or UPF, of at least 50. According to Mendonca, the colors are bright and distinctive to make it easier for parents to spot their children at a crowded beach, pool, or park.

While running a business in addition to working full time and caring for a family can be "quite a challenge," Mendonca said, she and her husband make it work because they believe strongly in educating the public about the dangers of long-term sun exposure, including sunburn and an increased risk of skin cancer.

PICTURE PERFECT: Growing up in Concord, Linda Williamson said, there was no shortage of picturesque, off-the-beaten-path places for her to explore. Just as her father always had a camera in his hand, she has similarly been inspired to "preserve beautiful places and memories" with hers.

Williamson, who moved to Westford in 1995, has photographed landscapes in Florida, North Carolina, California, Canada, the Cayman Islands, and Scotland. While passionate about nature and the ocean, she also is committed to capturing the "trueness" of events, people, and even pets, preferring to allow a photograph to reveal emotion rather than altering the image with computer software in a sometimes misguided effort to perfect it. While Williamson finds the pressure of wedding photography "scary," she can't help being the "first one on the scene" to capture images at weddings, births, and other life events.

"I can't stay away from them," Williamson said, laughing, "but I also love walking in the woods and getting up to see the sun rise, and suddenly realizing that hours have passed. I go where my camera takes me."

Williamson's photographs are on display at Emerson Hospital in Concord through Feb. 15. Her work is also available in the hospital's gift shop, Floral Arts of Westford, Main Streets Market and Cafe in Concord, Colonial Garden Florist & Greenhouses in Littleton, and at her studio at 122 Western Ave. in Lowell. To learn more, visit lindawilliamsonphotography.com.

People items may be submitted to Cindy Cantrell at cantrell@ globe.com.