Trenton VFW Post 919 has announced the winners of the Voice of Democracy and Patriot’s Pen competitions. The VFW Post combined Grundy and Daviess Counties into the award program.
The Voice of Democracy winner is Pattonsburg High School Senior Gage Iddings. Pattonsburg Senior Kelsey Crabtree placed second, and Gallatin High School Freshman Miah Parker placed third.
The Trenton VFW Post provides the first-place winner with $50 and a chance to advance to district judging. Second place receives $35, and third place is awarded $25.
The Voice of Democracy scholarship program, initiated in 1947, annually attracts nearly 80,000 high school students vying for more than $2 million in scholarships and incentives. Participants compete by writing and recording an audio essay on a yearly patriotic theme. This year’s theme is “What are the greatest attributes of our democracy?”
The Trenton VFW Post’s Patriot’s Pen winner is Pleasant View R-6 Eighth Grader Violet Breitenbucher. Gallatin Seventh Grader Kiley Curtis placed second, and Gallatin Seventh Grader Tenley Burke came in third.
The VFW Post awards the first-place winner with $50 and an opportunity to progress to district judging. Second place is presented with $35, and third place receives $25.
The VFW-sponsored Patriot’s Pen youth essay competition allows sixth through eighth graders to write essays on an annual patriotic theme. Awards and scholarships are granted at the post, district, state, and national levels. State winners share $55,000 in national awards. National winners receive a minimum of $500, with the first-place national award currently set at $5,000. This year’s theme is “How are you inspired by America?”
