Crissta Ames
Contributing Writer
The Charlotte VFW Post 2406 hosted the VFW District 8 Voice of Democracy and Patriot’s Pen meeting on Saturday, Feb. 2 to honor the winners of their 2018-19 Voice of Democracy and Patriot’s Pen scholarship competition. In attendance were special guests VFW Dept. of MI Commander Phil Patterson and VFW Department of MI Auxiliary President Sandy Medos.
The Voice of Democracy scholarship is a speech writing competition available to ninth through 12th graders who write and record their audio-essay. The program provides high school students a way to express themselves in a democratic and patriotic-themed way. According to the Auxiliary Department of Michigan website, nearly 40,000 9th-12th graders enter to win their share of $2.1 million in educational scholarships and incentives. The Michigan VOD winners are Ivy Stoller in first place, Hunter Zartman in second place, and Amy Sustaita in third. This year’s theme was “Why My Vote Matters.”
The Patriot’s Pen is a 300 to 400 word written essay. The essay is meant to help younger students learn more about the history of America and express their views. The Auxiliary website states that for the Patriot’s Pen, there are more than 132,000 students that enter the competition. The Michigan PP winners for this year are Isabelle Goodrich in first place, Micah Sispera in second place, and Ashley Strong in third place. The theme for Patriot’s Pen this year was “Why I Honor The Flag.”
The upcoming events at VFW Post 2406 will include the Post Awards and the Teacher of the Year award.
