CARNEYS POINT — On Jan. 20, Harrison/Woolwich VFW 10886 hosted its 8th Voice of Democracy and Patriots Pen awards dinner at the Soldiers Hall in Carney’s Point, NJ. The five students from Woolwich and Logan Townships each received a plaque and monetary award. The students are:
Patriots Pen Winners: 1st Place – Addison Jamison, 7th grade, Delaware Valley Classical School; 2nd Place – Allison Peraglia, 8th grade, Kingsway Middle School.
Democracy winners: 1st Place – Nathan England, 12th grade, Kingsway Regional High School *; 2nd Place – Amanda Klitchko, 10th grade, Bishop Eustace Prep; 3rd Place – Addison Torres, 11th grade, Kingsway Regional High School. *Nathan England also won second Place in The Voice of Democracy competition at the District Level of the competition.
Pictured above are County Commissioner Denise DiCarlo, Nathan England, Allison Perpiglia, Addison Jamison, Amanda Klitchko, Addison Torres and Charles Wells, Commander, Woolwich Harrison VFW Post 10886.
Each first-place state winner in Patriots Pen program receives a minimum of $500 and the National first-place winner wins $5,000. The national first place winner of the Voice of Democracy program receives $35,000. The scholarship awards are paid directly to the winning student’s college of choice.
Honored guest included the students and their families and Gloucester Board of County Commissioners Representative Commissioner Denice DiCarlo. DiCarlo, the County’s Liaison for Veterans Affairs, assisted with the presentation of the Post’s awards to each student. DiCarlo also spoke about the importance of education and presented each student with a certificate from the Gloucester County Board of Commissioners.
The “Voice of Democracy” is an audio-essay program that provides high school students with the unique opportunity to express themselves through a democratic and patriotic-themed recorded essay. The Patriot’s Pen is a written essay program open to students in the sixth through eighth grades. Each year, thousands of students across the country, the Pacific Islands, the Philippines and Europe, enter these two essay programs for a chance to win their share of $1 million in state and national awards.
These two essay programs VOD/PP, are designed to encourage 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.
