Young writers honored for patriotic prose

By CHARLES W. JOHNSON / News Editor for the Southern Standard

Winners in the local VFW Post 5064 “Patriot’s Pen” essay contest were honored at a banquet at the VFW recently. The winners are, from left, overall winner Maria C. Terrazas, Daniel Boyd, Michael A. Stevens, Mitchell Young and Jonathan M. Poe.

Winners for the local VFW Post 5064 annual patriotic essay contests were announced at a banquet in their honor last week.

The grade 9-12 contest is called “Voice of Democracy” and this year’s essay theme was “My Commitment to America’s Future.” The seventh- and eighth-grade contest is called “Patriot’s Pen” and the theme this year was “My Dream for America.”

“This is a valuable, valuable program,” said Ladies Auxiliary president Diane Wisniewski. “And we would love to have more and more students get involved in this. We need this patriotism.”

WCHS senior Garrett Martin was the winner in the Voice of Democracy contest, and though he was the only entrant in his age group locally, he nonetheless went on to win first at the 5th District contest. Garrett received a commemorative plaque, certificate and a jacket with the VFW Voice of Democracy logo on the front and an American eagle emblazoned on the back. Martin also received a $200 savings bond at the local level, and $500 at the district for his essay.

The overall winner for the Patriot’s Pen contest was Irving College eighth-grader Maria C. Terrazas. Maria’s mother is Mary Sue Terrazas and her teachers are Mike Mansfield and Towanna Bigford. As overall winner, Maria received $100, a plaque, certificate and a jacket with the Patriot’s Pen logo on the front and American eagle on the back.

Other winners include Lillian A. Dinwiddie, an eighth-grader from Morrison Elementary. Lillian’s parents are Robert and Leigh Dinwiddie and her teacher is Sharon Elam.

From Warren County Middle School, the winner was eighth-grader Daniel Boyd whose parents are Steve and Carol Boyd. His teacher is Mrs. Maynard.

Michael A. Stevens was the winner from Dibrell Elementary. The eighth-grader’s parents are Jeffrey and Crystal Stevens and his teacher is Carol Keller.

Eighth-grade student Mitchell Young represented Eastside Elementary with his winning essay. His mother is Kim Young and his teacher is Mrs. Prater.

Jonathon M. Poe, a seventh-grader from Centertown Elementary, rounded out the group of winning essayists. His parents are Darlene Davis and Kevin Poe and his teacher is David Graham.

Each of these students received $50, a commemorative plaque and certificate from the VFW and Ladies Auxiliary.