Veterans of Foreign Wars accepting applications for national scholarship competition

The 2014 Voice of Democracy Scholarship Competition is now open for San Benito County high school students.

The competition is sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars and its Ladies Auxiliary.

VFW Post 9242 in San Benito County will award the local first place winner $100 and the four runners up $25.

The Voice of Democracy program requires entrants to write and record a three- to five-minute script on the patriotic theme, “Why Veterans are Important to our Nation’s History and Future.”

Nearly 40,000 students participate in the program each year nationally.

The competition is open to students in grades 9-12, who are enrolled in a public, private or parochial high school or home study program.

Foreign exchange students, students age 20 or over and previous Voice of Democracy first place winners are ineligible. The deadline for submissions to VFW Post 9242 is Nov. 1.

Prizes and scholarships will be awarded at post, district, state and national levels.

State winners will receive an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. Feb. 28 – March 4, 2015, to tour the city, be honored by the VFW and its Ladies Auxiliary and receive their portion of $152,000 in national awards, the top scholarship being $30,000.

Applications can be downloaded here.

For additional information, contact Jay Ehret, Scholarship Advisor at San Benito High School, jehret@sbhsd.k12.ca.us or Charlene McKowen at Anzar High School, cmckowen@asjusd.k12.ca.us