Veteran's Of Foreign Wars

Post 11508 Home

History of the
Voice of Democracy
Scholarship

In 1946, the National Association of Broadcasters began sponsoring an annual speech competition for high school students. This Voice of Democracy competition was run with the help of the VFW, and offered prizes for speeches that were well conceived and well delivered. Each year, four regional winners were selected and awarded a $500 savings bond and a wristwatch.

In 1960, the National Association of Broadcasters decided it could no longer sponsor the program on a national basis, so the VFW assumed sole sponsorship of it. With its network of 10,000 posts and 8,000 Auxiliaries, the VFW was soon able to make the competition a truly nationwide undertaking. By 1974, Edward Burnham, then Director of
the Voice of Democracy (VOD) Program, noted that each year students from some 7500 public and parochial high schools were taking part in the VOD program.

Today, the Voice of Democracy competition is open to high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors across the country. Each contestant is required to write and record a three to five minute script on the subject selected as that year's topic. Some past topics have included "What Freedom Means to Me," "Freedom's Challenge," "My Responsibility as a Citizen," "New Horizons for America's Youth," and "Why I Am Proud of America." The recordings are then judged at post or school, district, and state levels. Winners at each level receive prizes and recognition. State winners are given an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C., where the final judging and awards presentation take place.

During their five-day stay in Washington, the state winners visit many sights, including the Smithsonian, Mount Vernon, the White House, the Library of Congress, and Arlington National Cemetery. Throughout these tours, the VOD participants are highly visible, each wearing a special jacket awarded by the VFW. Most often, these jackets are decorated with Commander's Pins from each of the VFW's departments. Each department gives its participant enough of that year's pins to trade with the other fifty-four contestants.

At the end of their visit, the state winners are guests of honor at the VFW's Congressional Banquet. Each winner is introduced individually, and seated at the head table with fifty dignitaries from the VFW, the armed forces, the federal government, and the Ladies Auxiliary. During this program, the names of the winners are announced. Each of the national winners receives his or her award, and then the first-place winner delivers his or her winning speech.

The 2004-2005 theme is

"Celebrating Our Veterans' Service"

Deadline for entries is November 1, 2004.

Local contestants win hundreds of dollars for placing 1st, 2nd or 3rd in Post and District competitions. All state winners receive at least a $1,000 National Scholarship but could win the $25,000 first place award. A total of $139,500 in National Scholarships was awarded to students at in 2001. The deadline date for student entry is November 1.

Visit the national website at http://www.vfw.org/yourtown/you_VoiceOf.htm for rules and guidelines.

Local Students (San Fernando Valley, CA) may contact our Post chairman for an entry package. VOD@vfw11508.org

Read last year's national winning entry http://www.vfw.org/yourtown/nyscript.htm

Download information:

Student participation information and entry form-- from VFW National (PDF file)
Requires the Acrobat plug in

Student participation information (MS Word file)
Student entry form-- (MS Word file)

Flyer for School use-- (MS Word file)

Student participation information and entry form-- from VFW National (PDF file)
        (Requires the Acrobat plug in)