Voice of Democracy & Patriots Pen 2013-2014 Themes Announced
Posted on January 7, 2013 by VFW Post 4103 in Voice of Democracy/Patriot’s Pen
Veterans of Foreign Wars National Headquarters has recently announced the themes for the 2013 Voice of Democracy and Patriot’s Pen essay contests. We, as a local VFW Post, encourage all eligible students to submit entries for these contests. They’re a great way to hone your writing and speaking skills and there are some great prizes available to the winners at all levels.
The 2o13 themes are:
Voice of Democracy: “Why I’m optimistic about our nation’s future.”
Patriot’s Pen: “What patriotism means to me.”
The entry forms with all the official information are attached to this post. All entries must be submitted to a local VFW Post. If you are in the South San Francisco area and are interested in competing, please contact us and we can advise you on how to submit your entry.
Some background:
WHAT IS THE VOICE OF DEMOCRACY PROGRAM?
Since 1947, the Voice of Democracy has been the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ (VFW’s)
premier scholarship program. Each year, more than 50,000 high school students
compete for more than $2.3 million in scholarships and incentives. Students compete
by writing and recording a broadcast script on an annual patriotic theme. This
year’s theme is, Why I’m Optimistic About our Nation’s Future.
WHY SHOULD I ENTER?
Prizes and scholarships are awarded at the local, district, state and national level.
Department (State) winners receive an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C.,
March 1-5, 2014, to tour the city, meet our nation’s leaders, be honored by the VFW
and its Ladies Auxiliary and receive their portion of $152,000 in national awards, the
top scholarship being $30,000.
THE RULES
Who can enter?
The Voice of Democracy is open to students in grades 9-12, who are enrolled in a
public, private or parochial high school or home study program in the United States,
its territories and possessions; or in an overseas U.S. military/civilian dependent
school. Foreign exchange students, students age 20 or over and previous Voice of
Democracy first place state winners are ineligible.
What do I need to enter?
Record your original 3-5 minute (+ or – 5 seconds max.) essay on a standard cassette
tape or CD. One student per CD or cassette.Preferred format for CD’s is the audio CD
format. When burning your CD, make sure that “Create Audio CD” option (or similar)
is selected so the program can properly convert your sound file and burn it to CD. After
it has finished, be sure to play back your audio CD on a system other than your computer,
such as a standard radio or car CD player, to verify that the conversion/burning
process was successful. Label the recording, neatly typed essay and attach this completed
entry form. Provide these items to your school/group competition or local VFW
Post for judging. All recordings must be in your own voice. Hearing/speech impaired
students should contact the Voice of Democracy National Office at (816) 968-1117 for
special instructions. No music, singing, poetry or sound effects are allowed. The body
of the essay must not identify you in any way, although the recording & typed essay
should be labeled with your name, to show ownership. You may enter only one Voice of
Democracy competition per year.
Where do I submit my entry?
All entries begin at the Post level. The only exception is where schools/classes/youth
groups have large numbers of students and wish to conduct their own competition,
submitting one winner for each 15 students to the local VFW Post competition.
Individual students may submit their entry directly to the Post providing they have
not competed at a school/class competition.
One winner for every 15 entries from each Post advances to District and one District
winner advances to the state (Department) competition. State winners are invited to
Washington, D.C where their essays compete in the finals competition.
If you need help finding a participating VFW Post in your area, call (816) 968-1117,
e-mail to kharmer@vfw.org or visit our website at www.vfw.org.