Each year, high school students in Plains have the opportunity to express their views, ideas, and beliefs around patriotic themes using art, the written word, and an audio essay. Every year the annual theme for each of the three contests is different than the previous year.

The first place winners of the three contests will advance to the regional contest and, should the entry by the student advance to the state level of each contest, it could become eligible for the national contest held later in the year. At the national level, each contest has cash prizes.

The 2016-2017 Voice of Democracy contest was recently held. The Plains VFW Post 3596 and the Ladies Auxiliary sponsors the annual contest. The first place winner was Kylee Altmiller. The contest began in 1947. Students are asked to create an audio-essay to express their ideas and beliefs around a patriotic theme. This year’s theme was “My Responsibility To America.” The contest is open to students in grades 9 through 12.

The VFW Horse Plains Auxiliary of VFW Post 3596 also held its annual Young American Patriotic Art Contest. The first place winner was Malachi Paulsen, Jessica Thompson was the second place winner, and Ivy Richards won third place. There were a total of eight entries into the contest this year. Each entry has to be done on paper or canvas using their choice of watercolor, pencil, pastel, charcoal, tempera, crayon, or acrylic. The entries can’t be done using any kind of digital art or photography.

The VFW Post 3596 also held its Patriot’s Pen contest. Skylar Bergstrom won first place, Mykenzi Blood won second place, and Katrina Hagerman won third place. The theme of this year’s contest was “The America I Believe In.” Each student entering the contest writes an essay between 300 to 400 typewritten words around the annual theme. The essays are not required to be read out loud by the students and will be judged on the writing and how well it fits with the theme.

Here is the winning essay written by Skyar Bergstrom:

The America I Believe In

“The America I believe in is the America where all people can be free to live the life they’ve always wanted. The America I believe in is a place where it’s okay to have your own beliefs and opinions. The America I believe in is the country where everybody can be safe and happy.

When people think of America, they think of a free country where people can be free to be who they want and not be punished for it. Our America may have some issues that we never used to have, but it’s nothing we can’t fix if we just keep our faith in the America I believe in. To keep our faith in the country, we have to remember what we used to love about this country and how to get that back. This means that people who don’t vote, need to start voting to get the country THEY believe in.

When people think of America, they think of a country where people are willing to fight for their amazing country and fight for other countries that they believe are being wronged. When our troops go into battle, they think of our country and all of the other people in it. These brave men and women fight for freedom for themselves and other Americans. They also fight for their rights and the rights of other U.S. citizens. This is another reason to vote for what we believe in. We need to keep this country intact so that the troops have a reason to fight, and they don’t lose the passion they started with.

With a little bit of hard work and reason, we can make this country as great as it has ever been. This country can be great again. That is the America I believe in.”

Reporter Douglas Wilks can be reached at dwilks@vp-mi.com or 406-826-3402.