Valley students place in VFW essay contests

Staff Reports

Two Valley students have placed in the Veterans of Foreign Wars' writing contests.

Daylin Olson was the recipient of the second-place award in the Patriots Pen essay contest.

The subject of Daylin's essay was, "Why we should honor American Veterans."

Olson, 13, is student in Elizabeth Leiknes eighth-grade class at Carson Valley Middle School.

She said she listens to the news to keep up with current affairs.

"My parents are pretty smart and we talked about honoring veterans," Olson said.

At the high-school level, 17-year-old Douglas High School junior Julia Miller took third place in the Voice of Democracy contest for her recorded essay about the same topic.

"This year's topic hit home," she said. "My grandfather was with the troops that landed in France after D-Day."

Both students received certificates of recognition, medals and $75 checks, presented by Genevieve West, past junior department president of VFW Post and Auxiliary No. 8583 of Gardnerville.

Contests are open to sixth- through 12th-grade students. Awards up to $10,000 are given to national winners in the essay contest.

Information about the VFW contests can be found at middle and high school counseling offices.