EPHRATA – The American Legion held its Washington semi-finals and finals of its Constitution Speech Contest at Big Bend Community College on March 11.

Two semi-final contests were held in the morning with the top two contestants from each round advancing to the finals held that afternoon.

Leading the pack was first-place winner, Emma Lo, a senior from Sammamish who received a $2,000 scholarship. Kennewick senior Hadley Wilcox received a $1,500 scholarship for second place. Castle Rock senior Katherine Offutt received a $1,000 third-place prize, and Ruth Acheson of Colville received a $500 fourth-place award.

Lo will receive an all-expenses-paid trip for her and a chaperone to the competition’s national finals in Indianapolis the weekend of April 21. She will also receive an additional $2,000 scholarship for competing at the national event and may earn as much as another $25,000 in scholarships depending on her placement at that event.

The contest is held each March for Washington state and is open to all high schoolers living in or going to school in Washington. Those interested should contact their local American Legion post or visit the organization’s speech contest site at www.waconstitutionalspeechcontest,org for more information. Mike Montaney with the Ephrata post may be reached at 509-989-4417 or [email protected].

For more information on the American Legion, visit www.legion.org.