VFW Post 889 in Coeur d’Alene announced that Emma Y. Kinyon, an eighth-grade student attending Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy, was selected as the first-place winner of the VFW’s 2017-18 Patriot’s Pen youth essay contest at the post level.

Emma, wrote her winning essay based on this year’s theme, “America’s Gift to My Generation.”

Emma is joined by the second-place winner Allie M. Klein, and third-place winner Rachel J. Karvonen, also attendees at Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy. As a result of the overall number of entries, all three essays have been forwarded to the next level to compete at the Idaho VFW District 1 competition.

The VFW enacted the Patriot’s Pen youth essay competition in 1995 as a way to encourage young minds to examine America’s history, along with their own experiences in modern American society while improving their writing skills.

The contest is a worldwide competition that gives students in grades six, seven and eight the opportunity to write a 300- to 400-word theme-based essay expressing their views on democracy while competing for worthwhile awards and prizes.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. is the nation’s largest and oldest major war veterans’ organization. Founded in 1899 and chartered by Congress in 1936, the VFW is comprised entirely of eligible veterans and military service members from the active, Guard and Reserve forces. With nearly 1.7 million VFW and Auxiliary members located in nearly 6,400 posts worldwide, the nonprofit veterans’ service organization is dedicated to veterans’ service, legislative advocacy, and military and community service programs. For more information or to join, visit www.vfw.org.