JACKMAN – Forest Hills School’s Carli Frigon, an eighth-grader, who competed in the Patriot’s Pen competition; and Madisyn Petrucci, a sophomore, who competed in the Voice of Democracy competition, were selected as District No. 5 winners for their respective contests in the Veterans of Foreign Wars annual competition held earlier this year, according to a news release from the William B. Doughty VFW Auxiliary 5723.

Both Frigon and Petrucci were recognized locally this past November by the Jackman auxiliary. From there, the entries were sent on to District No. 5 representing the towns of Jackman, Madison, Fairfield and Dexter.

For the Patriot’s Pen event, students in grades 6 through 8 were invited to participate in a national essay writing contest. The Voice of Democracy competition is a 3-5 minute speech that high school students must compose and submit.

Each year, the theme is re-chosen by the VFW national commander. For 2019-20, the same theme was selected for both the middle and high school contests, “What Makes America Great?”

Both winning submissions have been submitted to be judged at the state level. Grand prizes include scholarships and trips to Washington, D.C. National winners will be announced this month.

For more information, visit vfw.org.