VFW Offers Essay, Speech Competitions

The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) again present two opportunities for students to compete for nationwide prizes with the Patriot’s Pen essay competition for grades 6-8 and the Voice of Democracy audio essay competition for grades 9-12, including home schooled students.

The competitions start at the local Post level and winners can proceed all the way to the national level, where prizes include cash awards or scholarships. One out of every 15 entries at the Post level will advance to the District (regional) level. One district-level entry will advance to the Department (state) level, and from there one will be advanced to the national competition.

Patriot’s Pen is an annual essay competition that invites students to write an essay on a patriotic theme. This year’s theme is “What Makes America Great.” Essays should be 300-400 words in length and are judged on knowledge of the theme, theme development, and clarity of ideas. Students can be advised by teachers or group leaders but the essays must be entirely written by the entrant. Every national award competitor will receive a prize of at least $500 and may be awarded as much as $5,000. The national award winner will also receive an all-expense paid trip to Washington DC for the winner and a parent or guardian.

The Voice of Democracy audio essay competition theme is also “What Makes America Great.” Students are invited to record a 3-5 minute essay on an audio CD or flash drive and submit it to the local VFW post. Audio essays are judged on originality, content, and delivery. Department-level winners will receive and all-expenses paid trip to Washington DC in March to be honored by the VFW and Auxiliary and receive their scholarship award of at least $1000. The national winner will receive a $30,000 scholarship.

Entries must be received at the Post level by midnight on October 31. For more information, contact Larry Davidson at larryedavidson@att.net or call 580-255-4697 or 580-467-6364.