Youth who entered the Veterans of Foreign Wars essay competition “really kicked it,” according to local VFW Whitehead-Muzzall Post Commander Dave Hollett.

Members of the VFW Post 7392 and its Ladies Auxiliary gathered at the post Jan. 28 to recognize the first-place winners in the 2011 Youth Essay Contest.

“We are here today to recognize the outstanding young people who were this year’s winners,” said Hollett. “A lot of hard work went into writing these essays, and picking the top three (in each category) is really hard.”

The contest is made up of three categories: The Junior Youth Essay is open to students in third through fifth grade; the Patriot’s Pen is for children in grades six through eight; and the Voice of Democracy, a recorded essay competition, is open to high school students in grades nine through 12. A first-place prize is awarded in each grade level.

There were 13 winners out of 92 entries from the Oak Harbor and Coupeville school districts. Winning entries were forwarded to the VFW district level. Of the 13 local winners, nine went on to win at district. District winners proceed to the state level and if successful there, to the VFW’s national competition.

“These essay contests not only allow students to compete for prizes but also provide an opportunity for young people to share their thoughts and ideas about this year’s patriotic themes,” Hollett said.

First to be recognized were the winners of the Patriot’s Pen. The theme for this essay was “Are you proud of your country?” Kevin Moore, a sixth grader at Oak Harbor Middle school, also won third place at the district level. His essay was about the pride he feels in our nation’s military, but said he felt the government is not paying enough attention to finding alternative energy sources.

“I’m proud to live in the United States because of our military,” he read from his essay, “but I’d be a lot more proud if we could find more alternative energy sources.”

Austin Hauter was a local and district first-place winner. Hauter is in seventh grade at Oak Harbor Middle School.

Also winning first place at both the local and district level in the Patriot’s Pen essay was Amanda Kaychelle Fry, an eighth grader at North Whidbey Middle School. Her essay included her three favorite things that make her proud about the United States.

“I liked the theme,” she said. “Realizing what I really love about America, I had a list of about 20 things. I chose the three that meant the most to me.”

Junior Youth Essay contestants wrote their essays on the theme “What is an American?” Third-grader winner Brendan Andersen, from Crescent Harbor Elementary School, also won second place at the district competition. Brendan’s twin brother, Bennett, won second place in local third grade competition.

Two other siblings did well in the Junior Youth Essay contest: Maria Dailey won first place for fourth-graders and her brother, Jakob Dailey, won first place among fifth graders locally and fourth place in the district contest. Both are homeschool students.

The Voice of Democracy is a recorded essay competition. The theme for this contest was “Is there pride in serving in our military?”

Winners this year included ninth-grader Andrew Southard, a homeschool student who has competed in the VFW essay contests regularly.

“It always provides a great opportunity to reflect on patriotism and the greatness of our country,” said Sherry Southard, Andrew’s mom.

Joshua Martin Dailey, a junior at North Whidbey Christian High School, took first place for his grade level. In all, the Dailey family had six children who participated in the essay contest, and all six of them placed between first and third.

“We have done this competition for several years,” said mom Monica Dailey. “Everybody is motivated to do it and it’s an opportunity to discuss this topic with the kids.”

The most emotional moment of the presentation came from Brittney Rusinski, a senior at Central Kitsap High School and former Oak Harbor resident. Her entry also won first place at district. As Rusinski shared her essay, she was overwhelmed with emotion. Her mother, Teri, came and stood behind her, resting her hand on her shoulder. Brittney said she had a hard time trying to record her essay.

“I cried almost every time,” she said.

Brittney’s mom said her daughter’s entry, in which Brittney voiced the fears she had whenever her father was deployed, touched her heart.

“I felt really bad she was feeling all these things and I didn’t realize it,” Teri said. “I’m very proud, but I cried because she was kind of keeping this secret that I didn’t know.”

Hollett had one word to describe the process.

“Goosebumps,” he said. “If I get goosebumps, they’ve done a good job.

“This is one of the best parts about being the VFW Post Commander,” Hollett continued. “Getting to meet these young people and their families.”