Six Shasta Elementary School students earned top honors – and cash – from the Elks Grand Lodge Fraternal Committee and the Oregon Elks Association for writing essays on being an American and creating eye injury prevention posters. The winners go on to compete at the state level and have a chance to earn a spot in the national competition.
Sixth-graders in Laura Lokey’s class participated in both contests. All participants and the winners were recognized Friday by the Klamath Falls Elks Lodge 1247 during an assembly at the school.
Lyncho Ruiz, state chair for the Oregon State Elks; Nate Hoffman, exalted ruler of the Klamath Falls Elks Lodge #1247; and Elks members and trustees, Aharon Harris, Connie Brazil, and John Ernst were on hand to congratulate the students and give out the awards.
Randy Rose, principal at Shasta Elementary School, said the number of students who won awards and participated in the contests was one of many highlights of this school year.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the participants and award winners,” Rose said. “Mrs. Lokey has gone above and beyond in promoting the importance of being a good writer.”
Winners of the essay contest, which asked students to write on the topic “What Makes You Proud of America,” are:
- Drake Peters, first place, $275 cash award
- Alexander Mendoza, second place, $175 cash award
- Jada Hicks, third place, $125 cash award
Winners of the eye injury prevention poster contest are:
- Abigail Silcox, first place, $300 cash award
- Alexus Tenold, second place, $200 cash award
- Landon Cates, third place, $100 cash award
The Americanism Essay Contest is an annual program of the Elks’ Grand Lodge Fraternal Committee for towards students in fifth- through eighth-grades. To compete, students had to write up to a 300-word essay on the theme, “What Makes You Proud of America.”
The eye injury prevention poster contest was sponsored by the Oregon Elks Association. For more information on these programs, go to www.elks.org.
