Essay contest winners (l–r) Grant Goodfellow, Annah Hillary and Katie LaBarge earn first-, second- and third-place awards for Assumption School in Belmont. All three received award certificates.
Three students from Assumption School in Belmont have been named local winners in the 41st annual America & Me Essay Contest, sponsored by Farm Bureau Insurance.
The three students who earned the first-, second- and third-place awards for their school are Annah Hillary (first place), Grant Goodfellow (second), and Katie LaBrage (third). All three received an award certificate for their achievement.
As the school’s first-place winner, Hillary’s name will also be engraved on a plaque for permanent display in the school.
Hillary’s first-place essay now advances to the state-level competition, from which the top 10 essays in Michigan will be selected. The top 10 statewide winners, who will be announced in April, will each receive a plaque, a medallion and a cash award of $1 ,000. In addition, the top 10 essayists will be honored at a banquet in Lansing, meet with Michigan’s top governmental leaders, and be the featured guests at a Lansing Lugnuts minor league baseball game dedicated in their honor.
A team of finalist judges—including a top Michigan government official and the sponsoring teachers of last year’s top two statewide winners—will determine the ranking of the top 10 statewide winners this year.
Several thousand eighth-grade students from nearly 500 Michigan schools participated in the 2009-2010 America & Me Essay Contest, which was conducted with the help of Farm Bureau Insurance agents across the state. The topic of the 2009-2010 contest was “My Personal Michigan Hero.”
Started in 1968 and open to all Michigan eighth-grade students, the contest encourages Michigan youngsters to explore their roles in America’s future. As sponsor of the contest, Farm Bureau Insurance has earned 11 national awards from the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge.
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