Our 2009 Essay Scholarship Competition resulted in the closest contest in Chapter 528 history. We ended up with a three way tie for first place. The following six judges had the challenging and difficult task of choosing the best essay: Mary Boudreau, Debby Bradley, Cheryl Brown, Nancy Dignan, Ron Wroblewski, and Rich Whipple. Thanks to the judges for putting in their time and effort. The Essay Scholarship Competition was Co-Chaired again this year by: Dean Bell, Tom Brown, and Don Dignan. Instead of having the following division of prize money: 1st Place $750; 2nd Place $450; 3rd Place $300, the Co-Chair team decided to give all three winners equal money of $500.00 each. The following students placed 1st for our 2009 Contest: Samuel Bell (nephew of member Dean Bell), Regan Byers (AVVA Member), and Lauren Wietchy (neice of member Jim Austin). Our other contestants in alphabetical order: Samuel Baetzel (nephew of Dean Bell), Mike Przydzial (nephew of Eugene Spurgess), and Julie Witt (daughter of member John Spencer), deserve high praise for competing! Congratulations to all six contestants for their effort and hard work! We could have had many more students compete in this competition but only six gave it their best! All who participated should hold their head up high! All six participants will be receiving a Letter of Participation. Our three winners will receive a check for $500.00, a Letter of Participation, and a Special Certificate. The Presentation of the Certificates, Letters, and Scholarship Money will be held during our October 12th General Membership Meeting. All contestants are invited to attend. Below are the photos taken during our Meeting.
Lauren Wietchy 
Samuel Bell
Photos will be posted on October 13th
VVA Chapter 528 is again offering an essay scholarship contest this year. The scholarship is not based on financial need; it is a contest of merit and writing skills. Prize Money: 1st Place $750; 2nd Place $450; 3rd Place $300.
The Essay Question for this year is: Patriotism is defined as love of and/or devotion to one's country. What does Patriotism mean to you?
All contestants must be either an eligible member (paid-up) of VVA or AVVA Chapter 528 Plymouth-Canton for at least one year prior to the posting of our contest (since July 1, 2008) or a relative of an active member of Chapter 528. This only includes: spouse, son, daughter, granddaughter, grandson, niece, or nephew. Contestants must be at least a high school senior from the class of 2009 or be pursuing a degree from a college or university or any accredited post high school training program such as a vocational technical trade school.
Essays may be turned in between August 12th thru September 12th 2009. No essays will be eligible for being judged after midnight of September 12th (Saturday). All essays must be sent by e-mail to tom@vva528.org (Tom Brown's e-mail address). Judges will have from Monday, September 14th to Monday, September 28th to judge and rank all essays. All participants will be notified by phone or email as soon as possible. All contestants will receive a participation letter. The top three contestants will be invited to our October 12, 2009 General Membership Meeting so they can receive their prize money and certificates.
Judging of the essays is done by a group of Chapter 528 members, associate members, and qualified spouses of members. No judge will know who submitted any essay. Only the Essay Scholarship Committee Members of Don Dignan, Dean Bell, and Tom Brown will know which essay belongs to which contestant. No one on the Essay Scholarship Committee will be able to be a judge and judges can not be a relative of any contestant. Judges will be asked to score all essays and rank them. Individual judges' scores will only be known to the Essay Contest Committee. The Committee will then add up all of the judges' scores to determine the top three Essays.
Contestants must include a cover page stating their name, address, phone number, e-mail, one's university/college or vocational technical trade school, and their association with a chapter member. The cover page is not included as part of the essay. Contestants must use one inch margins, readable fonts such as New York, Times, or Helvetica, a font size of 12 pt., and double spacing. Use four or five pages for the length of your essay. All papers must include a Works Cited page. The Works Cited page is not part of one's paper length. Number all of your pages except for your cover page. Essays will be judged on the following criteria: Content, Organization, Thesis, Format, Grammar, and Spelling.
Every essay must contain three essential elements. First, the essay must provide a thesis statement (in the introductory paragraph). The thesis statement must encapsulate the main argument for the paper. It must be clear and coherent, and it must answer the essay question. Second, the essay must offer supporting evidence. The writer must provide the supporting evidence in paragraph form. Each paragraph must contain evidence that supports one idea or concept that proves the thesis statement. The writer must provide citations (in footnote, endnote, or parenthetical form) for all evidence presented. Third, every essay must follow basic rules of format and grammar. Every paper must contain a beginning (introductory paragraph), a middle (several supporting paragraphs that comprise the body of the paper), and an end (concluding paragraph). Grammar is vital for essay composition. Sentence fragments, misspellings, and improper punctuation denote a carelessly written and poorly conceived paper.
Our three winners of our 2008 Essay Scholarship Contest: First Place - Samuel Bell; Second Place - Mathew Thomason; Third Place - Alex Enright. Samuel Bell and Mathew Thomason were presented with their Prize Money, Congratulatory Letter, and Certificate during our October 13th General Membership Meeting. Alex Enright was attending a class at his University so Alex's dad, Ted Enright was presented with Alex's Prize Money, Congratulatory Letter, and Certificate. Our other contestants in alphabetical order: Sean Abraham, Regan Byers, and Shawna Fleming. Congratulations to all six contestants! All six participants will be receiving a Letter of Appreciation for Participation. Co-Chairs this year: Dean Bell, Don Dignan, and Tom Brown. Our six judges: Mary Boudreau, Cheryl Brown, Nancy Dignan, Cheryl Martin, Rick Popa, and Rich Whipple. Members are encouraged to read the three winning essays (click on the "blue words").
First Place Word Document or PDF File Samuel Bell with Bill Boudreau, and Dean Bell
Second Place Word Document or PDF File Mathew Thomason with Bill Boudreau, and Jerry Thomason
Third Place Alex Enright (left) Bill Boudreau and Ted Enright (right) Word Document or PDF File
