Voice of Democracy and Patriot’s Pen Entries Due October 31
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The local Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Ladies Auxiliary will be hosting the annual Voice of Democracy and Patriot’s Pen competitions this fall. All entries should be submitted to the local VFW Post by midnight on October 31.
Each year, the Post hosts this local competition for all students who attend schools or are homeschooled within Toombs County. Monetary prizes, including scholarships, are given for those who earn a spot in the Top 3 of each competition. These winners then go on to compete at region and state levels for a chance to compete nationally for larger monetary prizes.
The Patriot’s Pen is a writing competition for middle school students in grades 6-8. This contest requires participants to write a 300-400 word essay on their views of a patriotic theme. This year, the theme for the Patriot’s Pen competition is, “My Voice in America’s Democracy?” as students are encouraged to explore their role in the nation. Judging is broken down into three categories; knowledge of the theme is worth 30 points, theme development is worth 35 points, and clarity of ideas is worth 35 points.
The national Patriot’s Pen champion will receive $5,000 and significant recognition.
Meanwhile, the Voice of Democracy competition is a speech contest in which participants are required to write an essay on a given topic and then create an audio recording of that essay being read, which is submitted for judgment. Like the Patriot’s Pen, the Voice of Democracy competition has a different theme every year, and this year’s theme is entitled “Is America Today Our Forefathers’ Vision?” Entries will be judged on three different criteria, including originality (which is worth 30 points), content (which is worth 35 points), and delivery (which is worth 35 points).
National winners for the Voice of Democracy contest will receive a $35,000 scholarship.
For more information on these contests, or to enter a submission, contact Bobby George at (912) 293-3322.
