At its December 14, 2012 meeting, VFW Post #8870 recognized several area students who participated in the Annual National VFW Essay contest. The Post’s student essay competition is coordinated by James “Rock” Roth who also serves as our Post Chaplain (shown above with Youth Essay participants).
The theme for this year’s Youth Essay contest was “How Do I Show My Love For My Country?” The contest is open to elementary school students in grades 3, 4, and 5, and this year’s winning essay was submitted by Elijah Pfeifer, a fifth grade student at Mukilteo Elementary School. Elijah was presented with a $100 scholarship from the Post. Ms. Sue Idso, is Elijah’s teacher, and she encouraged her entire class to enter the student essay program. Prior to the presentation of awards, Ms. Idso’s students led the Post members and guests in the Pledge of Allegiance and treated everyone to a wonderful recitation of the Preamble of the Constitution of the United States.
The Patriot’s Pen essay contest is open for middle school students in grades 6, 7, and 8, and the theme for this year’s contest was “What I Would Tell America’s Founding Fathers”. The winning entry was submitted by Olivia Olson, a seventh grade student at Brier Terrace Middle School, and she also received a $100 scholarship. Olivia’s teacher is Ms. Ruth Brick who is a former State of Washington VFW Middle School Teacher of the Year.
Three Runners-Up in the Patriot Pen competition were announced by Chaplain Roth, and they were all students from Ms. Idso’s class. They are Georgia Duke, Ashley Gray, and Grace Koball, each of whom received a $50 scholarship. Receiving Honorable Mention certificates were fifth graders Elizabeth Crocco, Nicole Faller, Eliza Kirk, Gabrielle Richardson, and Allison Woodbury.
The two winning entries have been forwarded to Washington State VFW for consideration at the district and state levels. More information about our Post’s activities and programs can be obtained by visiting our web site at www.vfw8870.org