It's not exactly common, Hespen-Mitchell VFW Post 4836 Commander Mike Benesch said, for someone from a town the size of Clarkson to get state level awards for the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)'s writing contests.
It did happen in February though, as Clarkson seventh grader Taelyn Baumert and Leigh sophomore Luke Eisenmann got the opportunity to read their speeches to state judges after winning their respective brackets locally.
"It's a lot about patriotism, which is something lacking in a lot of young people nowadays," Benesch said.
He and a few other community members get the writing and a recorded speech on a flash drive, watch them and judge them, handing out $75, $50 and $25 awards to first, second and third place, respectively, in several brackets.
"If you listen to some of these speeches, some of these young kids' speeches are fantastic, they'll bring a tear to your eye," Benesch said.
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Baumert was named for the state Patriot's Pen contest for her submission on the topic "How are you inspired by America?" in the Poet's Pen contest. In a publication by the VFW, Baumert said she enjoyed the opportunities she had with this contest.
"It was amazing to be able to present my essay to a huge room full of veterans who have protected our country. I appreciate the opportunity to represent our community and state in the national contest," Baumert said.
She and Eisenmann presented their speeches at the VFW Banquet in Lincoln on Feb. 2 and Eisenmann's story is just getting started there. For his piece about "What are the best attributes of our democracy?" in the Voice of Democracy contest, he will be going on an all-expenses-covered trip to Washington, D.C., to the national VFW convention. He will represent Clarkson and Colfax County with his speech. In the same VFW release as Baumert, Eisenmann said he's excited for this opportunity.
"I'm honored to win this award and be able to honor veterans with my speech," Eisenmann said in a press release. "I'm excited to represent Nebraska at the national contest in D.C."
Benesch said in recent years, local representation for these contests has been a little low, but he's really happy to see some Colfax County names on the roster for national competition.
"It's great to have someone local. There are a lot of them in bigger cities, but nobody in our community has ever gotten this far," Benesch said.
