VFW post names winners of essay and art contests

VFW Post 5652 in Ronan, which sponsors multiple contests for youth and teachers in the area, recently listed the local winners for the 2025-2026 school year.

Brody Bulette of Polson won the “Voice of Democracy” audio-essay contest for grades 9-12. This year’s theme was "How are you showing patriotism and support for our country?"

Students write an essay about the given topic and record themselves reading it. Local winners are given a monetary prize with the chance to compete for scholarships of up to $35,000 at the national level.

Blayden Staley was the winner of the “Patriot's Pen” contest for 6-8 graders, which offers a prize of $5,000 for the national winner.

The topic for next year's contest is "What a veteran taught me about America" and the contest deadline is Oct. 31; to read more about the contests or download the entry form, visit vfw.org/YouthScholarships.

The VFW Auxiliary sponsors “Illustrating America,” an art contest for students in grades K-8 and 9-12 with with divisions for patriotic two-dimensional and three-dimensional creations. All the art contests have a deadline of March 31.

Ninth grader Lillian Glantz of Polson won this year’s two-dimensional contest.

The final contest is for teachers who are committed to instilling patriotism in their students. This year’s winner was Polson social studies teacher Patrick Danley.

“Congratulations to all who participated in the contests and we look forward to another great year,” said Pamela Oberwegner, president of VFW Auxiliary chapter 5652. She hopes to recruit more participants from area schools as well as home-school students for next year's contests.

For information about the contests or involvement in VFW activities, contact post 5652 in Ronan at [email protected] or [email protected].

    Lillian Glantz of Polson took top honors in the VFW Auxiliary's “Illustrating America” art contest.