Jackson Cook, a senior at Franklin Academy, won the District 7 VFW Voice of Democracy contest with his oral presentation. He represented the Wake Forest Memorial VFW Post 8466 and competed against contestants from 11 other posts in the district. He will compete for the state prize at a future date.
The Voice of Democracy scholarship program is an audio-essay contest for high school students in grades 9-12 that annually provides more than $3 million in scholarships. The first-place winner, who competes with all the first-place VFW Department winners, receives a $30,000 scholarship that is paid directly to the recipient’s American university, college or vocational/technical school.
Besides competing for the top scholarship prize, as well as other national scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $16,000, each department’s first-place winner receives an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., in March.
The Voice of Democracy program is designed to foster patriotism by allowing students the opportunity to voice their opinion in a three to five minute essay based on an annual theme.
