Teaching the recognition of sacrifice

Contributed photos
Greysen Saewert, fourth grade; Garrett Uselman, fifth grade; Talya Vandermay, fifth grade and Joyce White.
Charlie Braukmann, first grade; Piper VonRuden, first grade and Reese Vandermay, first grade.

The New York Mills VFW Auxiliary presented awards to nine local winners in the Thank You, Veteran Card contest sponsored by the MN Department of the VFW Auxiliary. The contest consisted of making a card that said “thank you, veteran” on it with whatever else the student chose to write or draw.  

There was a total of 208 cards entered for competition.  For judging they were divided into three categories according to grade level.  

Three were chosen from the first grade, three from the second and third grades and three from the fourth and fifth grades.  These nine cards were advanced to the District VFW Auxiliary where they will compete for entry at the state level.  There were many delightful cards entered which made the judges decisions difficult. 

The remaining 199 cards were given to area VFW homes and nursing homes to be distributed to the veteran residents in those facilities.  They were warmly received by the staff members there.  One of the comments made was “our residents can use a nice pick-me-up like these cards right now as they are quarantining in their units because of Covid.  They will love the cards from the kiddos.”  For that reason, all the cards entered in the contest were winners.

Hayden Bleichner, second grade and Layton Meyer, second grade.

The purpose of the contest was to teach our young people to recognize the sacrifices our veterans have made in serving our country.  The students came through in flying colors showing by their words and artwork that they know and appreciate what it means to serve our country.