AHS student, Alex Heard, wins district Voice of Democracy Contest
2nd year in a row that AHS has the winning speech
January 11, 2008
Alex Heard, a junior at Auburn High School, was recently selected as the district winner in the Voice of Democracy Oratorical Contest sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Alex was chosen as the local winner in November and presented his winning speech at the Auburn High School Veteran’s Day convocation. His winning speech was titled, “My Role in Honoring America’s Veterans,” a topic provided by the VFW. Alex’s speech will now move to the state level competition and he has the opportunity to attend a banquet in Kearney honoring this year’s winners. Alex is the son of Roy and Jodi Heard.
This marks the second year in a row that Auburn High School has produced the district winner. Issiaih Yott, a senior at AHS, was the district winner last year.
History of the Voice of Democracy Contest
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.
