The Virl “Pa” Haga VFW Memorial Post 10221 in Anchor Point presented awards to several Anchor Point youth on Saturday for placing in a national anthem singing contest and an essay contest at the state level. The VFW also presented an award honoring a member of Chapman School staff as Teacher of the Year.
“Get Excited for the Red White and Blue” is a national anthem singing contest for youth in grades K-12, in which contestants are judged based on vocal ability, mastery of lyrics, originality or interpretation, and entertainment value, according to the contest application form. State-level winners are eligible to move on to the national competition.
The Patriot’s Pen youth essay competition is an annual nationwide contest for students in grades 6-8. Students entering the competition must write a 300-400 word essay on an annual patriotic theme, and are eligible to win prizes in U.S. savings bonds, according to the Alaska VFW website. This year’s essay theme was “My Pledge to Our Veterans.” First-place winners at the state level are eligible to advance to the national competition, according to the contest rules.
The VFW Memorial Post 10221 presented the following awards on Saturday:
Patriot’s Pen essay contest
First place: Ben Shafer
Second place: Jaxson Adams
Third place: Parker Overson
National anthem singing contest
First place: Joshua Keene
Second place: Aura Allen-Mullis
Third place: Rox Shafer and Aurora Anderson
Smart/Maher VFW Citizenship Education “Teacher of the Year” Award
VFW Memorial Post 10221 presents awards to state-level winners of the youth Patriot’s Pen essay contest on Saturday, April 22, 2023 in Anchor Point, Alaska. Photo provided by Jennifer Henley
