Photo from left to right: Voice of Democracy (VOD) winner Drae J. Rauwald, Plover VFW Post Commander Guy Mockler, Plover VFW Ladies Auxiliary President Diane Lutovsky, Patriot’s Pen (PP) winner Jesse A. Winger, and PP/VOD Competition Chairman Allyn Dunlap. (Contributed photo)

For the City-Times

To promote democratic ideals and foster patriotism and good citizenship in America’s youth, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) established the Patriot’s Pen (PP) and Voice of Democracy (VOD) national competitions.  Local winners of Patriot’s Pen and Voice of Democracy competitions were announced at the Plover VFW Post #10262 February meeting.

The Patriot’s Pen winner was Jesse A. Winger, a 7th grader at Stevens Point Christian Academy, for his essay, “What Does Patriotism Mean To Me?”

The Voice of Democracy winner was Drae J. Rauwald, a 12th grader at Stevens Point Christian Academy, for his audio-essay, “Why I’m Optimistic About Our Nation’s Future.”

The local winners presented their essays at a joint VFW and Ladies Auxiliary meeting at VFW Post 10262 on February 10.  Each winner received a plaque, $100 and a gift card from the Post and Auxiliary.  Drae went on to place 2nd in the VFW’s District 7 competition and was awarded $75 and a certificate.

The Patriot’s Pen is a youth essay-writing competition that comprises students from grades 6-8. Students draft a 300-400 word essay expressing their views based on a patriotic annual theme chosen by the VFW Commander-in-Chief.

Annually, roughly 124,000 students enter to win one of several savings bonds totaling $1.1 million, as well as an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C. for the national first place winner.

The Voice of Democracy, an audio-essay competition, provides students grades 9-12 the opportunity to express their views of democratic ideas and principles. Each year, more than 51,000 high school students from across the country enter to win a share of the $2.2 million in educational scholarship and incentive awards.

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