Members of Mr. Shaftic’s Advance Placement (AP) U.S History class have flourished at the local level of a nationwide “Voice of Democracy” competition-which is sponsored by the Lawrence County VFW. The Voice of Democracy Program is open to all students in grades 9-12, who are enrolled in a public or high school in the United States The competition includes a three to five minute oral recording of a written essay from the contestant. The essay topic this year was “Why my vote matters”

The AP U.S History class responded to the question with a specific essay. The students were instructed to write a speech on what they, as a citizen of America, feel is the importance of their civic responsibility to participate in the democratic process.  They were required to provide specific details to support their theory. Students, then, made a voice recording of their essay, which had to meet several requirements including time limit parameters, and submitted it to VFW Post 315 for the contest where they were judged by distinguished members of the community.

Three members of Mr. Shaftic’s AP class have been chosen to advance to the district level of the contest from the 259 entries submitted countywide into the Voices of Democracy and Patriot’s Pen sponsored by the VFW. The 2017 Voices of Democracy winners this year are Camri Cochran, Savannah Terracio, and Ricky Zheng.  These students finished 1st, 2nd, and 3rd respectively in Lawrence County. Their essays, if selected at the district level, will continue to the state level, and eventually the national level. Over two million dollars worth of scholarships is available with a top prize of thirty thousand dollars!

For more information on the annual VFW “Voices of Democracy” competition please visit www.vfw.org.