Fifth Grade Flag Essay Contest
General Information:
The purpose of The American Legion of Iowa
Essay contest is to develop a deeper knowledge and appreciation for the United
States Flag on the part of elementary-level students. Other objectives of the
contest include the ability to gain knowledge of flag etiquette and respect for
the flag.
Eligibility:
Participants shall be citizens of or lawful
permanent residents of the United States. All contestants must be students
enrolled in the Fifth grade in a public, parochial, military, private or state
accredited home school.
Essay:
The written essay will be no more than 300
words and will be limited to one full page, double-spaced, typewritten,
12-pitch, and must be the original effort of the contestant. The subject will
pertain to personal interpretation of what the United States flag represents to
the individual, based on facts from the Flag
Code (PDF).
Flag
Essay Application (PDF)
Awards:
Local and District Contest awards, if any,
will be the responsibility of the individual Posts and Districts. Local contests
must be completed by March 1, and winning essays forwarded to the District Children and Youth
Chairman by April 1.
Monetary awards are presented by the
Department of Iowa in the final round of the Department contest which
will include ONE entry from each of the nine districts, to be chosen by the
District Children and Youth Chairman and forwarded to Department by April 30.
Each of the three top essays will be
recognized in the same manner as other youth champions of other programs and the
First Place winner will be asked to participate in the Department Convention
Parade and read their essay at the Annual Department Convention.
Contests:
Local contests will be conducted and judged by the Post
Children and Youth Chairman, or in lieu of, the Post membership. The winning
essays, along with the Application for Participation, will be forwarded to the
District Children and Youth Chairman, to decide on a District Finalist (based on
DISTRICT guidelines).
The District Children and Youth Chairman and his/her
designated committee members, will judge all winning essays received. The
participation record will reflect the winning essay and will be forwarded to the
Department Children and Youth Chairman.
The Department Children
and Youth Chairman and his committee will convene at a mutually convenient time
so as to have the judging complete by May 12, 2008, to choose the three
finalists.
Local contests will be conducted and judged
by the Post Children and Youth Chairman, or in lieu of, the Post membership.
The winning essays, along with the
Flag Essay Application (PDF), will be forwarded to the District Children
and Youth Chairman, to decide on a District Finalist (based on DISTRICT
guidelines).
The District Children and Youth Chairman
and his/her designated committee members, will judge all winning essays
received. Click on the link for the
Flag Essay Scorecard (PDF). The participation record will reflect the winning essay and will be
forwarded to the Department Children and Youth Chairman.
Deadlines
District
Children and Youth Chairmen will set their deadlines to receive your Post and County finalists in the
Department Fifth Grade Flag Essay Contest. Posts should forward the
winning essay they pick from their Post/County to the District Children and
Youth Chairman by April 1.
The
Department Headquarters must receive the winning
District essays by April 30. | 
