Email
Don Dignan
Email
Ron King
FIRST PLACE: Brittany Bejma - Granddaughter of Phil Menendez; $750.00 U. of Mich. Dearborn – Sophomore Major: Psychology & Political Science (Honors Program & Volleyball Team) Phil and Brenda Menendez were present for the award presentation. Brittany's Essay
SECOND PLACE : Zoe Moore – Granddaughter of Bob Humphrey; $450.00 Sarah Lawrence College – Yonkers, Westchester County, NY Sophomore – Majoring in French. Her mother, Mrs. Beth Moore, sister of Bob Humphrey accepted the award for Zoe. Zoe's Essay
Co-Chairs of the Essay Scholarship Committee are Dean Bell, Don Dignan and Ron King
Mary Boudreau
Cheryl Brown
Debby Bradley
Nancy Dignan
Mason Grahl
Bob Paul
Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), Plymouth-Canton Chapter 528 is once again offering an essay scholarship contest this year. It is a contest of merit and writing skills and not based on financial need. Prize money: 1st Place $750; 2nd Place $450; and 3rd Place $300.
Eligibility: High school seniors/graduates of the graduating class of 2012 and other students who are pursuing an undergraduate degree from a college or university or any accredited post high school training program such as a vocational technical trade school are eligible. Those pursuing a master’s degree as well as other post-graduate degrees are also eligible for this scholarship. All Contestants must be either an eligible member of VVA Chapter 528 (paid-up) or eligible member of Associates of Vietnam Veterans (AVVA) Plymouth-Canton, Chapter 528 for at least one-year prior to the posting of the contest (membership since July 08, 2011); or an eligible relative of an active VVA eligible Chapter 528 Member. This relationship includes spouse, son, daughter, granddaughter, grandson, niece, or nephew.
Timing: Essays may be turned in from August 15, 2012, to September 14, 2012. Essays received after midnight Friday, September 14, 2012, will be ineligible for consideration. All essays are to be sent by email to Mr. Ron King at rking2963@wowway.com. Attached essay documents must be sent in MS Word .doc format or compatible (not .docx)
Judging: Judges will have from Monday, September 17th to Sunday, September 30, 2012, to evaluate and rank all essays. Judging of the essays will be done by a group of Chapter 528 members, associate members, and qualified spouses of members. No judge will know who submitted any essay. Only the Essay Scholarship Committee members will know which essay belongs to which contestant. No one on the Essay Scholarship Committee will act as a judge, and judges should not be a relative of any contestant.
Judges will individually rank all essays submitted. Individual judges’ rankings will only be known by the Essay Contest Committee members. The Committee will assign points to determine the final consolidated rankings of all essays submitted. In the event of a tie(s), prize money will be awarded equally among the tied contestants. Example: 1st place 2-way tie: $600 each, 3rd place $300, etc.
Contest Results and Notification: All participants will be notified by telephone or email October 02, 2012, by the Essay Committee. All contestants will receive a participation letter, and the top three winners will be invited to the VVA Chapter 528 General Membership meeting on Monday, October 08, 2012, to receive their prize money and certificates.
Essay Requirements: Every essay must contain three essential elements. First, the essay must provide a thesis statement in the introductory paragraph. The thesis statement must encapsulate the main argument for the paper. It must be clear and coherent, and it must answer the essay question. Second, the essay must offer supporting evidence. The writer must provide the supporting evidence in paragraph form. Each paragraph must contain evidence that supports one idea or concept that proves the thesis statement. The writer must provide citations (in footnote, endnote, or parenthetical form) for all evidence presented. Third, every essay must follow basic rules of format and grammar. Every paper must contain a beginning (introductory paragraph), a middle (several supporting paragraphs that comprise the body of the paper), and an end (concluding paragraph). The use of sentence fragments, misspellings, and improper punctuation will be reflected in the overall scoring of essays.
Format and Personal Information: Contestants must include a cover page stating their name, address, phone number, email, university/college or vocational technical trade school, and their association with the chapter member’s name. The cover page is not included as part of the Essay. Contestants must use one-inch margins, readable fonts such as Arial, New York, Times New Roman, or Helvetica, a Font Size of 12 pt., and double spacing. Use MS Word .doc or compatible format (not .docx). Use four or five pages for the length of the essay. All pages must be numbered except for the cover page. A Works Cited page must be included with a minimum of 3 references. Essays will be judged on the following criteria: thesis, content, organization, format, and grammar.
Dean Bell, Don Dignan, and Ron King 2012 Essay Scholarship Committee, VVA Chapter 528 June 22, 2012
Essay Scholarship Contest 2011 Essay Scholarship Contest 2010
