VFW Youth Essay Contest

The Vashon Veterans of the Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 2826 offer all students from the 3rd through the 12th grades, our Leader of Tomorrow, an opportunity to participate in a VFW Youth Essay Contest. Two of the contests are National VFW programs, Voice of Democracy (grades 9 through 12) and Patriot’s Pen (grades 6 through 8) and one is the Washington State Youth Essay program (grades 3 through 5). The following schools have been provided the Essay Entry Forms and Rules for the VFW sponsored contest for 2012 -2013 and the schools will make that data available to their students: Vashon Island High School, McMurray Middle School, Chautauqua Elementary School and the Harbor School. Students can enter the contests by contacting the Vashon VFW Representatives Directly: Roy Bumgarner, Vashon VFW Post 2826 Commander, 463-5767, rrmbumgarner@comcast.net or the Post Chaplain, Olde John Croan, 463-2852, oldejwc@comcast.net. You can get the Entry Forms and Rules from the Internet by contacting one of the VFW Post Representatives and we will give you the address and directions to get all the data that you need.

The following important rules apply to the three VFW Sponsored Essay Contests: 1. The students name, city or school can not be written in the Essay. The students name must be unknown to the Essay Judges. 2. All contest data must be submitted to the VFW Representative by November 1, 2012. 3. All written Essays or CD or Cassette Tapes data must be reviewed and judged and the results submitted to the next higher contest level, VFW District 2, by November 15, 2012. 4. The Vashon VFW Post will have an Essay Awards and Desert Banquet prior to the VFW District 2 Essay Awards and Ice Cream Social in January 2013. 5. The Vashon VFW Post 2826 will award a certificate to all the students that participated in the VFW Sponsored Contest. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winner from all the Vashon participating students in each class from the 3rd through the 8th Grades will receive framed certificates and cash and the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners from all the high School Grades will receive framed certificates and cash. 6. The 1st Place winner in each grade from 3rd through 8th grade and the 1st Place winner from all the High School Grades will be submitted to VFW District 2 for their evaluation. We could possibly forward 7 students Essay/Cassette or CD to District 2. Only the students receiving 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place Awards will be invited to their Awards and Ice Cream Social. The invited student and family, friends, teachers and administrators are also invited to this special event.

The VFW District 2 judges evaluate essays from Seattle and Vashon Island. VFW District 2 Essay Award and Ice Cream Social typically provides 1st, 2nd and 3rd place awards for essays received from each of the grades from 3rd through the 8th grades and High School, 9th through 12th grades are considered as one VFW contest eligibility grade.

Each of the fifteen Washington State District will forward one essay from the Patriots Pen, 6th through 8th Grades, and one essay from the Voice of Democracy, 9th through the 12th grades, to the National VFW Essay Contest.

Patriot’s Pen and Voice of Democracy will provide an all expense paid 5 day trip to Washington DC from every state and other selected areas and the Patriot’s Pen will provide 46 awards, with the 1st Place being $5,000 and Voice of Democracy will provide more than 2.3 million in scholarships.

Roy Bumgarner, Commander of Vashon VFW Post 2826, will be the primary contact for all the VFW Youth Essay Contest.

I wish to thank every student and supportive family, every Superintendent and Principal and Teacher and every volunteer that has judged youth essays, developed and printed the award certificates, prepared for the judging and banquets and all that have told the great story of preparing our youth to be the spiritual, family, community, national and world leaders of tomorrow. The Vashon Community constantly demonstrates that is the best place to live and to raise our families. I thank God for the opportunity to be part of this volunteering, supporting, understanding and caring community that provides love, serenity, joy and a deep sense of gratitude for being able to help each other.