By MAGGIE MCMURRAY
Moapa Valley Progress
A group of select middle and high school students were honored on Thursday, Jan. 18, by the Veteran’s of Foreign Wars (VFW) Elwood Perkins Post 8336 for both their patriotism and their exceptional writing and speaking skills.
The post held its annual awards ceremony for the winners of the VFW Patriot’s Pen youth essay and the Voice of Democracy audio essay contests. The contest is held nationwide every year and awards over a million dollars in nation-wide scholarship prizes.
This year’s award ceremony was conducted by Post 8336 senior vice commander Ralph Healy. Healy introduced the Voice of Democracy and Patriot’s Pen Coordinator Bruce Hollinger to present the awards.
“The VFW believes strongly in good citizenship and fostering patriotism,” Hollinger said. “That’s why we encourage youthful minds to examine our nation’s history and their own experiences in modern American society.”
Students have the opportunity to write an essay around a patriotic national theme that is different each year. Essays are then judged and winners receive a cash prize.
Hollinger began by announcing the winners of the Patriot’s Pen awards. This contest is aimed at middle school age students in grades 6-8. This year’s theme was “America’s Gift to My Generation.” Hollinger explained that the essays are judged on knowledge of the theme, theme development, and clarity of ideas. The post received 12 entries this year from local youth.
The first place award went to Iain McMurray. Second place went to Ethan Stankosky. Third place was a tie between Joseph Boss and Ethan Witter. Cash awards in the contest ranged from $25-$100.
Second place winner Ethan Stankosky had his essay passed on to VFW Post 36 since that Post did not have any entrants of his own. Bob and Sue Garlow from that post came to the awards ceremony and presented Stankosky with an additional cash award as their post’s winner.
Hollinger announced that McMurray had not only won at the post level, but also at the district level and would be receiving a cash award for that.
Following the presentation of the awards, McMurray read his essay which proposed that America’s gift to his generation was a safe environment in which to think, share ideas, and believe what one chooses.
Next, Hollinger presented the Voice of Democracy audio essay awards. This contest is for high school students. Each year, more than 51,000 students across the nation enter to win a share of $2.2 million dollars in scholarships and prizes. This year’s contest theme was “American History: Our Hope for the Future.”
There were only two entries at the post level this year. These included MVHS students Gabrielle Shiozawa and True Jarrel. Jarrel won second place and received a $50 cash award. Shiozawa was first place winner, which came with a cash award of $100.
Shiozawa was asked to read her winning essay, in which she shared her feelings upon learning about the Las Vegas shootings. She explained how she went from the darkness of being devastated and hopeless about the future of a country where incidents like this can happen, to seeing a glimmer of light and being encouraged and filled with hope for the future as she learned of the selfless acts, community support, and other positive things done by Americans for Americans on the evening of that event and the following days.
Hollinger also announced that the winning teachers had been chosen as the Post 8336 Citizenship Education Teachers of the Year. The elementary school winner was Trish Anderson, the middle school winner was Juanie Prisbrey, and the high school teacher was Jeff Keel. Hollinger said that the post had awards for each teacher, but they would be presented at a future date in an assembly at each teacher’s school. That way students and other staff members could be a part of the celebration, he said.
The winning students were thrilled with the results and the awards they received.
“At first I just entered the contest for fun and I didn’t think I would win it,” said Joey Boss. “So when I got the letter inviting me to the awards, I was really surprised. Now I’m really glad I did it and I’m definitely going to do it again next year.”
“I like the opportunity to participate in things like this because they help me to generate more ideas about the things that are common in my life,” Jarrell said. “As I think about the themes and how they apply to me, it helps me appreciate the things I have that I really care about.”
Shiozawa agreed, saying, “I’m passionate about writing and I’m passionate about patriotism. I’m grateful for the opportunity the VFW has given me to get better at writing and speaking. I think this is a great program and I’m grateful for the opportunity I’ve had to participate in it for the last two years.”
Hollinger was pleased with the participation this year but encouraged all students to participate next year. The deadline for entries is October 31 every year. The year’s theme can be easily found online by doing a search for “Patriot’s Pen” or “Voice of Democracy.”
“It’s great to see local students participating in our programs,” Hollinger said. “It really brings home the fact that our youth are our future.”
Senior Vice-Commander Healy agree. “I think tonight’s youth did an excellent job this year,” he said. “As a parent or grandparent I would be extremely pleased if any of those youth were mine.”
