Two Newberry siblings received top honors from the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 2811 of the 2024 Voice of Democracy (VOD) and Patriot’s Pen scholarships.
Isa Pillari, 17, earned first in the VOD competition and Ilo Pillari, 13, topped the Patriot’s Pen scholarship. The two students are home-schooled by their parents, Pramod and Catherine Pillari.
The two winners received a $100 award and trophy at the VFW Post 2811 meeting held on Dec. 12 and read their essays to the post’s membership and auxiliary.
The Rock School senior Annabell Zachritz, 17, received a trophy and $75 for second place in the VOD contest.
“The post membership and I were truly impressed with the quality and content of both their essays,” said Avery L. Owen, VFW Post 2811 commander, in a press release. “As an organization of combat veterans, many of us were sincerely touched at the sentiment. It is good to know that the basic principles of freedom and democracy that we fought for are being cherished by young people in our community.”
This year’s VOD essay topic was “Is America Today Our Forefathers’ Vision?” and the theme for the Patriot’s Pen contest was ‘My Voice In America’s Democracy.”
“I don’t think the students who participated this year could have written to these subjects any better than what they did,” said Owen, a retired master sergeant who served with the 3rd Bn, 20th Special Forces Group of the Florida Army National Guard, in the release. “I think they’ll do well at the next level.”
The VOD and Patriot’s Pen winners move to the next bracket at Florida VFW District 14, which includes VFW posts from Lake City, Palatka, Lake Butler, Interlachen and Gainesville. If forwarded from there, entrants will earn a chance to compete at the VFW Department of Florida.
Florida winners advance to the VOD national level where they would compete for a $30,000 scholarship. Other VOD national scholarships range from $1,000 to $15,000, and the top winner from each state can earn a minimum scholarship of $1,000, plus an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C.
The top Patriot’s Pen competitors selected from each state can earn $50,000 in awards, along with a top prize of $5,000 and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C.
Both the VOD and Patriot’s Pen scholarships are open to all students from middle school through high school.
Congratulations! Well deserved!