Black Diamond Elementary School students McKenzie Johnson, Victoria Shearer and Savannah Norton were first-place award recipients in the Maple Valley-Black Diamond Post No. 5052 Veterans of Foreign Wars Voice of Democracy contest.

The three, along with five of their classmates who placed second or third, were honored during a Friday assembly at the school. Quartermaster Richard Ludwig, Post Commander Larry Johnson and Senior Vice Commander Wayne Humphrey presented the awards.

Johnson, a third-grade student, Shearer, a fourth-grader, and Norton, who is in fifth grade, each received $75 for their winning essays. This year’s theme was “What Makes Our Country Great.”

Second-place honorees, who received $50, were Grace Doleshel, third grade; Shaylin Mak, fourth grade; and Madelyn Carlson, fifth grade.

Hannah Beige, fourth grade, and McKayla Perry, fifth grade, were third-place winners. They received $25.

The essays were judged at the local level and then submitted for district competition. Winners at the district level then advance to state.