Caleb Friend and Cody Schwerin, seniors at Flanagan-Cornell High School, placed first and second respectively in the District 7 Voice of Democracy essay contest.

They and their parents were honored at the District 7 banquet Jan. 17 at the Pontiac Veterans of Foreign Wars post. Both students were named local Post winners and then were able to compete at the district level.

District 7 covers a large geographic area including Champaign-Urbana, Bloomington-Normal, Kankakee, Watseka and Rantoul. About 250 high school students competed in the District 7 competition. Both Caleb and Cody received scholarship money for college.

This year's theme was "Does America Still Have Heroes?" As first-place district winner, Caleb read his essay at the banquet and received a standing ovation. His essay has gone on to the state level of competition.

Caleb will be honored at the state VOD banquet in Springfield Saturday, Feb. 13, where he will be one of 19 district winners competing for state scholarship funds. He will be spending the weekend in Springfield where he will participate in tours of historical sites led by VFW officials.

Beverly Hart, English and American studies teacher at Flanagan-Cornell High School, is the local coordinator for the Voice of Democracy essay competition. Students in her English classes participate in the annual essay competition. Hart was named Voice of Democracy Teacher of the Year for Illinois in 2000 and 2009.

Since 1947, the Voice of Democracy has been the VFW's premier scholarship program. Each year, more than 100,000 high school students compete for more than $2.5 million in scholarships and incentives. Students compete by writing and recording a broadcast script on an annual patriotic theme.