The American Legion Auxiliary holds an Americanism Essay Contest each year throughout the United States that is conducted through the students in grades 3 through 8. This is separated into three groups. Group 1 is for grades 3 and 4, group ll is for grades 5 and 6, and group lll is for grades 7 and 8. Holy Redeemer has participated for several years and annually has local, district, and department winners. Two years they had a national winner. This is awesome when you consider the hundreds and thousands of competing essays.
This year is no exception. The following students received recognition with certificates and monetary prizes for their essays titled “How can we address the health and well-being of our veterans, military and their families?” Group I—First place locally and in the Southern Maryland District was won by Scott James, second place was won by Amihan Gage, and third place was won by Joell Kelley. In group ll, Fahey James took first place locally and second place in the Southern Maryland District, second place was won be Ava Eggleston, and third place went to Molly Smith. In group III, Ethan Caracoke took first place on the local level and second place in the Southern Maryland District, Keagan Cooper won second place, and Dalton Walker took third. We congratulate these amazing students and their teachers for their continued participation in this worthy program.
Getting the awards to the students is challenging this year with the closing of the schools, but where there is a will, there is a way. I have not heard so far if the student who won first place in the district has won in the department. The first-place winners go on to further competition from local to district to department and finally to national with the monetary awards increasing in value each step of the way.
On another note, I, for one, believe the coronavirus has been with us much longer than is reported by the media. I say this because of my personal experience between Thanksgiving and Christmas when I suffered from a very bad cough that caused breathing difficulties, shortness of breath, a fever, and wheezing with no evidence of a cold or flu. This puzzled my physician, who could not find any reason for my condition. She prescribed an antibiotic, a small capsule (I can’t remember the name of the medicine), and a ventilator to take home and continue the breathing treatments she began in her office. It took a month to get better, during which time my throat would close up, and I fought to breath. Not a fun time.
Let us hope these difficult times are soon a thing of the past and that God continues to bless America and our valiant troops around the world.