At a well-attended breakfast gathering Dec. 7, 2024, Northampton Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4714 held its Voice of Democracy competition awards reception at Sam Owens Restaurant and Bar, 128 Chestnut St., Coplay.

The Voice of Democracy program is an annual nationwide scholarship program sponsored by the national VFW. It is an essay contest for high school students in grades 9-12. The program provides more than $2 million in scholarships to successful entrees annually.

The program began in 1947. There are approximately 40,000 grade 9-12 participants nationwide. The national first-place winner receives a $30,000 award, which is paid directly to the recipient’s American university, college or vocational/technical school.

Northampton VFW 4714 Commander Larry Schlittler led the event. He thanked all for attending the awards breakfast and stressed the value of assisting young people in pursuing higher education.

Schlittler presented monetary awards to Northampton Area High School 11th-graders Elizabeth Sponsler, as the first-place winner; Kaylyn Patterson, second-place winner; and Gabrielle Rothrock, third-place winner. All of the three winners competed against numerous other applicants at the VFW local level. In addition to the breakfast and scholarship money award, they received a jacket, backpack and certificate of achievement.

All three have not yet decided which college or university they will attend.

Their high school teacher/adviser Jerry Batcha was present to support the winners and the program. A number of VFW veterans, dressed sharply in blue military dress uniforms, and the family members of the winners were also in attendance.

The national VFW designated the 2024-25 theme of the students essays as “Is America Today Our Forefathers’ Vision?”

All three essays were forwarded to the Pennsylvania District 20 office. If one of the three wins the District 20 essay competition, she will automatically enter into the Pennsylvania state level competition, set to be held this month. If the winner prevails at the state level, she will receive a minimum $1,000 scholarship and an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C., to compete at the national level.