The William M. Gouse Jr. Post #3211 Veterans of Foreign Wars announced the winners of its Voice of Democracy Tape Essay Contest, "America's Role for the Next Century," earlier this week.

The competition, which is sponsored by the VFW and its Ladies Auxiliary, requires participating students from Hicksville High School and Holy Trinity Diocesan High School to write an essay on a chosen theme and then present it on an audio recording to the judges. This year the theme was "America's Role for the Next Century." The entries were judged on the originality and delivery of the essay, the clarity in which it was presented, and how well it related to the theme.

The winners, chosen from the over 90 entries, were: Hicksville High School- first place, Jeremy Barlow; second place, Kim Karman; third place, Rijo Ninan; Holy Trinity High School- first place, Tiffany Fazio; second place, Emily Watson; third place, Colleen Kelly. Fazio and Barlow will advance to the next level of this national competition.

Connie Steers, former commander of the Post #3211, and Ria Liebman, Ladies Auxiliary, were the chairpersons for the competition. Steers stated during the presentation of the awards that the competition has fostered and promoted "Americanism" in young people for over 50 years.

He added that "the tremendous effort the students put into the contest made everyone in the VFW and Ladies Auxiliary very proud."

Marjorie Chironno, the president of the Ladies Auxiliary, stated the competition was a great success and lauded the children for their hard work and strong convictions. "I think each student who participated in the contest came away with a better appreciation of their country."

Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto, Nassau County Comptroller Fred Parola, as well as representatives from the offices of County Executive Thomas Gulotta, Congressman Peter King, Assemblyman Marc Herbst, and Nassau County Legislator Edward Mangano were on hand to congratulate the winners of the competition.

"We have a saying that your future is only as good as your youth...and from what I have seen and heard tonight we are in good hands," said John Venditto.

After he heard the youthful words of the contest winners and looked out over the veterans in attendance, Fred Parola stated that veterans were the most qualified group to hold an essay contest on America. He further stated that "freedom has to be reworked by each generation," and that this competition demonstrates that.

The Voice of Democracy contest was first begun by the Radio Broadcasters of America in 1946. The Veterans of Foreign Wars picked up the program in 1957 and the William M. Gouse Post 3211 started their involvement in the contest in the early 1960s. Fazio's and Barlow's entries were sent on to the district competition where both placed very strongly.

Each of the students who placed in the competition were presented with a medal, Voice of Democracy pin, and a certificate from the William M. Gouse Post 3211. Each student also received certificates of recognition from the state, county and town.