Curtis A Smith VFW Post 1033 and Auxiliary and Burnside Carpenter Post 4299 start a new youth program year along with the schools’ new year. The air is full of excitement for the new students and teachers and we are excited for our new programs involving our area youth and teachers. The following are the upcoming programs:
Patriot’s Pen Program is a VFW-sponsored youth essay competition that gives students an opportunity to write essays expressing their views on an annual patriotic theme. We invite you to join the more than 73,000 students who participated last year in this contest. This year’s theme is “How are you inspired by America”. Essays should be 300-400 words. This contest is for middle school students in grades 6-8 and has a national grand prize of $5,000. Brochures will be available at the middle school and by contacting Marian Paxton at 843-496-2664. Local prizes will be $100 for 1st place, $75 for 2nd place and $50 for third place. Deadline for essay contest will be October 31st.
Voice of Democracy is an audio-essay program that provides high school students 9-12th grades to express themselves in regards to a democratic and patriotic-themed recorded essay. Each year nearly 25,000 students from across the country enter to win their share of more than $1.3 million in educational scholarships and incentives awarded through the program. The national first-place winner receives a $35,000 scholarship paid directly to the recipient’s American university, college or vocational/technical school. The theme this year is “What Are the Greatest Attributes of Our Democracy?”. Brochures will be available at Alleghany High School or you can call Paul Linkenhoker at 540-969-6909 or Grover Nicely, Post 4299, at 540-863-5596. Local prizes will be $250 for 1st place, $200 for 2nd place and $100 for 3rd place. The deadline for this contest will be October 31st.
Teacher of the Year – Without our nation’s veterans, America would not be the great nation it is today. Our youth deserve to learn about our rich history, traditions and the role of our veterans in creating and shaping America. Each year, the Veterans of Foreign Wars selects elementary, middle and high school teachers to paricipate in the Smart/Maher VFW National Citizenship Education Teacher Program. VFW Post 1033 and VFW Post 4299 are honored to be able to pay tribute to these local teachers. Information is available from Paul Linkenhoker or Grover Nicely. Local prize will be $100 for each school. The teacher selected to present on a district level will be $200. The deadline is October 31st for consideration.
We look forward to a great year and look forward to receiving all of your applications for these programs.
