Students named winners of Post 5915’s essay contest

On Jan. 30, the Carpentersville Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5915 and its Ladies Auxiliary had their Youth Scholarship and Awards luncheon. These three students — Marissa Nemec, David Lee, Marissa Marcheski — are the local winners of the Voice of Democracy Contest, which is an audio essay contest.

The theme for this year was “Does My Generation have a Role in America’s Future?” Nemec, a junior at Dundee Crown High School, along with Lee, a senior at Harry D. Jacobs High School, had their speeches advance to district level for further competition. They both received a plague and a monetary award.

Marcheski, also a junior at Dundee-Crown, was a runner-up and she received a certificate and a monetary award from the local VFW and its Ladies Auxiliary to Post 5915.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars takes great pride in this program and encourages as many students as possible to enter the contest. Each year they are given a new theme to work with, which is given by the VFW commander and chief.

After they win at the post level, they can advance to district, then state and finally the national level of competition and receive a $30,000 scholarship and win an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C.