Seymour High School senior Ekaterina Cox, left, was named the winner of the Fort Vallonia Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizens Award and Scholarship Contest during a ceremony on March 21 at First Baptist Church in Seymour. Others pictured are chapter Regent Diana Ray, center, and Camryn Thompson, who was Brownstown Central High School’s candidate for the contest.
A Seymour High School senior recently was named the winner of the Fort Vallonia Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizens Award and Scholarship Contest.
A panel of judges from outside Jackson County selected Ekaterina Cox, daughter of David and Natalie Cox of Seymour, as the overall winner out of the Good Citizens candidates from three of the county’s five high schools.
The other Good Citizen award candidates were Camryn Thompson, a senior at Brownstown Central High School, and Braxton McCory, a senior at Medora High School. Thompson is the daughter of Troy and Missy Thompson. McCory is the son of Mike and Vickie McCory.
The three were recognized during an awards ceremony March 21 in the fellowship center at First Baptist Church in Seymour. Chapter Regent Diana Ray led the ceremony, and other chapter officers on hand were Skye Zakrzenski, vice regent; Sally Acton, chaplain; Kathy Douglass, treasurer; Sue Meier, recording secretary; and Angie Doyle, registrar.
One candidate from each participating school was selected after completing an application and responding to an essay subject without the opportunity to prepare or research their answer. The essay had to be completed within two hours under the supervision of a member of their school faculty or a DAR chapter member.
This year’s subject was “Our American Heritage and Our Responsibility for Preserving it.” The focus question was: How will the essential actions of a good citizen (dependability, service, leadership and patriotism) meet the challenges that America faces in this decade?
The essays were collected by the local chapter and scored by the panel of judges. The scoring rubric contains 18 criteria for a total of 100 points, and each chapter selects one candidate to represent them. The state DAR society selects a candidate to progress to the divisional level, and that winner is submitted for judging at the national level. The national winner is announced at Continental Congress in the summer.
The contest, created in 1934, is intended to encourage and reward the qualities of good citizenship. The award recognizes and rewards individuals who possess the qualities of dependability, service, leadership and patriotism in their homes, schools and communities. The students are selected by their teachers and peers because they demonstrate these qualities to an outstanding degree.
This program is open to high school seniors whose schools are accredited by their state board of education. Only one student per year may be honored as a school’s DAR Good Citizen, and U.S. citizenship is not required.
The National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution is a nonprofit volunteer women’s service organization dedicated to promoting patriotism, preserving American history and securing America’s future through better education. The organization’s motto is “God, Home and Country.”