American Legion Essay Winners Announced

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KAY DEEMARCO PHOTO The Gazette
Vi Johns, Emma Gocken, Inga Danko and Lily Karvelis.

American Legion essay winners announced
Every year the Illinois American Legion, American Legion Auxiliary, and Sons of the American Legion sponsor an essay contest with generous scholarship winnings. Vi Johns of the Barloga Post of Pecatonica’s American Legion Auxiliary spearheaded this year’s competition. She depends upon Pecatonica High School’s cooperation to complete the process. Inga Danko, history teacher, assigns the essay title “What Are My Responsibilities as a US Citizen?” After reading all of the essays, Ms. Danko sent 20 of the 11-12 grade and 13 of the 9-10 grade essays to Vi Johns. She then has those judged by a group of retired schoolteachers.
After this news release reaches the newspaper, the Pecatonica girls’ essays will go to a district contest. Generous scholarship prizes are awarded to top winners.
Winner of the freshman-sophomore group is sophomore Emma Gocken. Emma promotes three responsibilities that she believes all citizens should follow. The privilege of voting, staying informed to be able to vote wisely, and obeying laws which keep America stable.
Pecatonica’s winner of the junior-senior group is junior Lily Karvelis. Lily explored three areas of responsibilities for a stable USA. She believes we should assure that future generations have every possible opportunity for education and education should be available to everyone who desires it. She also believes that accepting other individuals is a responsibility of each American as it brings people together. Thirdly, Lily believes that we need to take care of the land.