Josh Rutta First Place in Patriot's Pen Contest
Joshua Rutta and Rabbi Nemetsky, Principal
Recently, Mr. C. Roberts Tilghman, Chairman of both the Voice of Democracy/Patriot’s Pen contests for VFW Post 283 and the 11th District, Department of Pennsylvania, Veterans of Foreign Wars, notified Joshua Rutta that he is this year’s first place winner of the Patriot’s Pen contest on the post level. According to Mr. Tilghman, Josh’s essay was chosen out of more than 200 entries submitted by area schools. Students in grades six through eight are eligible to compete and wrote their essays responding to the prompt “Why I am an American Patriot.”
In Joshua’s essay, he wrote, “I believe a person can be patriotic by supporting the country even if he/she does not always agree with the decisions that our leaders make. I write this because that is the kind of patriot I am.” He quoted Adlai Stevenson, politician, when he wrote “Patriotism is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime.” Josh continues by saying, “One could steadily support the country and still be a very dedicated patriot. This definition applies to me.”
He will receive his award at the VFW Post 283 on Wyoming Avenue in Kingston on Tuesday, March 4th, at 7 PM. We, at UHI, join with Josh’s family in congratulating him on this achievement.
Congratulations, Josh! We are all so proud of you!