Usually, there is one speaker at events such as award ceremonies. However, on Thursday night, the VFW Loyalty Awards Dinner had several speakers – the winners of the annual Patriot’s Pen and Voice of Democracy winners.

Each year more than 132,000 students in grades 6-8 enter the VFW’s Patriot’s Pen youth essay contest. The national first-place winner wins $5,000 and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C. The first-place winner from each state competes for national awards totaling $55,000, with each first-place state winner receiving a minimum of $500 at the national level. 

The essay contest encourages young minds to examine America’s history, along with their own experiences in modern American society, by drafting a 300- to 400-word essay, expressing their views based on a patriotic theme chosen by the VFW Commander-in-Chief. 
This year’s theme was ‘Why I honor the American flag.’

The Voice of Democracy audio-essay program provides high school students with the unique opportunity to express themselves in regards to a democratic and patriotic-themed recorded essay. Each year, nearly 40,000 9-12 grade students from across the country enter to win their share of $2.1 million in educational scholarships and incentives awarded through the program. 

The national first-place winner receives a $30,000 scholarship paid directly to the recipient’s American university, college or vocational/technical school. A complete list of other national scholarships range from $1,000-$16,000, and the first-place winner from each VFW Department (state) wins a minimum scholarship of $1,000 and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., according to vfw.org

This year’s theme was ‘What makes America Great.’

At the local level, Patriot’s Pen first place winner Lauren, a student at St. Mary’s School was presented with a plaque and $150.

Voice of Democracy second place winner was Carissa Slaughter. Slaughter is in the 12 grade at Bridge City High School. She was presented with $200.