VFW Announces 2010-2011 Voice of Democracy and Patriot’s Pen Winners
Winners Received Scholarship Awards.
March 07, 2011
The winners of the VFW and Ladies Auxiliary sponsored Voice of Democracy audio-essay competition and the Patriot’s Pen essay competition were announced late yesterday afternoon during the 2011 VFW Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C.
The Voice of Democracy program celebrated its 64th year with this year’s theme, “Does My Generation Have a Role in America’s Future?” The first-place winner, Kelsey Woo, sponsored by Post 10694 out of Santa Ana, Calif., received an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., where she was presented with the T.C. Selman Memorial Scholarship award in the amount of $30,000. The second-place winner, Sarah Olive-McStay, sponsored by Post 7089 out of Tumwater, Wash., received the $16,000 Charles Kuralt Memorial Scholarship Award. The third-place winner, Logan Beyer, sponsored by Post 2771 out of Kinston, N.C., received the $10,000 VFW Scholarship Award. All other state winners received at least a $1,000 college scholarship. Nearly 50,000 students participated in this year’s competition.
Read Kelsey Woo’s award winning essay
Watch Kelsey deliver her essay on-demand at vfw.org
See list of all winners
The Patriot's Pen program is designed to foster patriotism by allowing students the opportunity to express their opinions on democracy based on an annual theme, this year’s being, “Does Patriotism Still Matter?” The first-place winner, Julia Funk, sponsored by Post 9539 and its Ladies Auxiliary out of Roebuck, S.C., received an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., where she received a $10,000 savings bond and trophy. The second-place winner, Camila Gomez, sponsored by Post 3822, the Department of Latin America/Caribbean, will receive an $8,000 savings bond and glass plaque. The third-place winner, Matthew Heritage, sponsored by Post 4853 out of Jourdanton, Texas, will receive a $7,000 savings bond and glass plaque. Wood plaques will be sent to all of the sponsoring Post’s Department headquarters for presentation during their respective Department Convention or other appropriate ceremony. A total of 140,000 students participated in this year’s competition.
Read Julia Funk’s award winning essay
Watch Julia deliver her essay on-demand at vfw.org
See list of all winners
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