In the Spring of 2015, Juan “JT” Ibanez visited 12 National Parks in 25 days and brought his camera along to document each one. A former US Army Soldier and Iraq War Veteran, JT’s trip through the national parks served as a therapeutic experience to readjust back into life after military service. Beginning in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia and ending at Redwood National Park in California, JT found solace, peace, and a little adventure waiting at each stop of his 7,200 mile excursion.

The National Park Service and the National Park Foundation, the official charity of America’s national parks, partnered with hitRECord, a collaborative online production company founded by actor/director Joseph Gordon-Levitt in celebration of the National Park Service Centennial. This video was inspired by the Find Your Park/Encuentra Tu Parque movement.

Comrades,

Tonight is our monthly post meeting. It’s our quarterly Audit so we ask that Trustees show up early at 645pm.

Topics for this evening include Nominations for new Officers & Memorial Day Flag Placing in the Junction and Poppies.

See you there.

-QM

Winners Selected in VFW’s Annual National Youth Scholarship Contest
Panama City, Fla., student awarded a $30,000 scholarship

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (March 1, 2016) – Last night, the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States (VFW) and its Auxiliary proudly announced the national winners of its annual Voice of Democracy and Patriot’s Pen youth scholarship competitions, live during the 2016 VFW Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C.

Enacted in 1946, the 2016 Voice of Democracy program’s theme asked students to describe “My Vision for America.” The first-place winner, Grayson Campbell, sponsored by VFW Post 10555 and its Auxiliary in Panama City Beach, Fla., received an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., where he was presented with the T.C. Selman Memorial Scholarship Award in the amount of $30,000. The second-place winner, John Dykstra, sponsored by VFW Post 1774 and its Auxiliary in La Mesa, Calif., received the $16,000 Charles Kuralt Memorial Scholarship Award. The third-place winner, Christopher Oulds, sponsored by VFW Post 8798 and its Auxiliary in Eufaula, Okla., received the $10,000 VFW Scholarship Award. All other state winners received at least a $1,000 college scholarship. More than 36,000 students participated in this year’s competition.
Read Grayson Campbell’s award-winning essay.
Watch Grayson deliver his essay on-demand at vfw.org/VFWDC2016.
See the complete list of 2016 winners.

Enacted in 1995, the Patriot’s Pen program is designed to foster patriotism by allowing students the opportunity to express their opinions on a patriotic theme, this year’s being, “What Freedom Means to Me.” The first-place winner, Shane Stafford, sponsored by VFW Post 10468 in Searchlight, Nev., received an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., where he received a $5,000 award.

The second-place winner, Cassandra Soeldner, sponsored by VFW Post 10810 in Stuttgart, Germany (VFW Department of Europe), will receive a $4,000 award. The third-place winner, Nicole Kashner, sponsored by VFW Post 108 and its Auxiliary in Chillicothe, Ohio, will receive a $3,500 award. More than 130,000 students participated in this year’s competition.

Watch Shane Stafford deliver his essay on-demand at vfw.org/VFWDC2016.
Read Shane’s award-winning essay.
See the complete list of 2016 winners.