With holiday calendar dates falling in the middle of the week, unpredictable weather patterns, and extracurricular events scheduled before the schools’ winter breaks, many organizations held their events earlier in the month, including the Marceline Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post #1471. Each year, the local VFW chapters hold awards ceremonies for the winners of the Voice of Democracy and Patriot’s Pen essay competitions held nationwide, and the contest winners present their essays during the awards ceremony.

Marceline Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post #1471 honored Marceline area students on Tuesday, December 10, at their regular December meeting. Charles Krumpelman, Commander, presented the awards. Winner of the Voice of Democracy and Patriot’s Pen essay contests presented their essays during the meeting. Attendees enjoyed a reception with light refreshments after the essays and awards were presented.

The Voice of Democracy 2024-25 theme was “Is America Today Our Forefathers’ Vision?” This year’s winners were as follows – Kylee Krumpelman, 1st Place; Katey Kussman, 2nd Place; and Alex Floyd, 3rd Place.

The Patriot’s Pen 2024-25 theme was “My Voice in America’s Democracy?”. Each year, the contest is open to all students in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades in public, private, and parochial schools as well as home-schooled children in the United States and dependents of U.S. military or civilian personnel in overseas schools. This year, only the Marceline Middle School students entered the Patriot’s Pen essay competition. This year’s winners were as follows – Nash Ramirez, 1st Place; Spencer Rollison, 2nd Place; and Grace Cox, 3rd Place.

Judges for both the Voice of Democracy and Patriot’s Pen essay competitions were as follows – Kim Pearman, Aaron Ervie, Jesse Wallis, Larry Franklin, and Michael Kelly.

Both essay competitions consist of four levels—the first (entry) level sponsored by VFW Posts; the district (regional) level; the VFW Department (state) level; and the VFW national competition. Entries are judged on knowledge of the theme, theme development, and clarity of ideas. Students must show a thorough knowledge of the theme in their work, answer all relevant facts about the theme (who, what, where, when, and why) and relate the theme to their own experiences, and present their essays with a clear explanation of how they interpret the theme.