Active in Our Community

American Flag Sponsored for the American School in Japan

The American School in Japan

On September 15, 1999 VFW Post 9450 proudly sponsored an American flag and VFW-supported citizenship education materials for the American School in Japan (ASIJ). The flag was presented to Headmaster Peter R. Cooper by Past Post Commander (Dr.) Allen L. Robinson during a brief ceremony attended by ASIJ's Director of School Advancement, Mr. Robert E. Cadogan, and Post 9450 Junior Vice Commander Norman Sess. Pictured are, from left to right, Mr. Cadogan, Mr. Cooper, Dr. Robinson and Mr. Sess.

Voice of Democracy & Patriot's Pen (formerly Youth Essay)

Voice of Democracy and Youth Essay programs start at Misawa Air Base schools

Main building, Edgren High School at Misawa Air Base, Japan

We are overjoyed to announce the 1999 resumption of the VFW Voice of Democracy and Youth Essay programs at Misawa Air Base DOD Schools under the sponsorship of VFW Post 9450, Tokyo. This follows the loss of these programs at Misawa due to closure of the local VFW Post. We thank the Social Studies Chair at Misawa DOD Schools, Mr Leland Walbruch, for actively promoting and instituting these programs wthin the area schools and acting as our central point of contact at Misawa. For more information on these programs, click on the links to Voice of Democracy or Youth Essay.

And our 1999 Voice of Democracy winner from Edgren High School is......Kristin Giuliano! Congratulations Kristin!

Senior English teacher Chris Christopherson congratulates
Kristin on her "Voice of Democracy" success

Our sincere thanks to all other participants, with special appreciation for Nichole Finklea.
　
Kristin will enjoy the award of a $200.00 U.S. Savings Bond from VFW Post 9450, Tokyo, and her entry has been forwarded for the District level of competition and possible further awards. District winners will advance to Department level competition, and the winners of that will advance to National competition held at Washington D.C. Separate awards are given at each level of competition.
- We would again like to express our appreciation to "Lee" Walbruch and others in the DOD School System at Misawa who have helped us in making the Voice of Democracy program a reality at Misawa.

Youth Essay program starts at the American School in Japan (ASIJ)

We are pleased to be able to announce the resumption of the VFW-sponsored Youth Essay program at ASIJ under our sponsorship. Our personal thanks to Headmaster Peter Cooper and 8th Grade Social Studies teacher Andrew Hoover for "passing the word" that this program is available to ASIJ students.

ASIJ first prize winner Robert Lord

Edgren HS first prize winner Amy Nixon

Our judges: from left to right,
Bob Collins, Jean Pearce and "Corky" Alexander

1999 Youth Essay winners announced
　

Post 9450 is honored to announce our winners from the 1999 Youth Essay contests held at ASIJ and Edgren Schools. Our congratulations to all of the winners.

First prize ($100.00 US Savings Bond) winners were Robert K. Lord (ASIJ) and Amy M. Nixon (Edgren HS).

Second prize ($75.00 US Savings Bond) winners were Megan E. Lobeck (ASIJ) and Chris S. Silvania (Edgren HS)

Due to the overwhelming response from Edgren HS (104 entries) an additional 3 prizes ($50.00 US Savings Bond) were awarded to Ashley A. Dawkins, Rachel L. Tagum and Christopher M. Schoff from that school.

The first prize entries will be forwarded to the next level of competition for consideration.

About our Youth Essay judges
Our Youth Essay judges were selected leaders in journalism from within the Tokyo English-speaking community. We profusely thank Mr. "Corky" Alexander (Tokyo Weekender Publisher), Mr. Bob Collins (author and editor) and Ms. Jean Pearce (Japan Times columnist) for performing as our judges. The judges were required to scan a total of 105 entries in deciding the winners from Edgren HS and ASIJ, a tremendous feat requiring a great amount of time from their busy schedules. We greatly appreciate their willingness to act as our judges and hope that they are as willing next year. Again , "Corky", Bob and Jean, our sincere appreciation to you.

Edgren High School Recognizes Voice of Democracy and Youth Essay Participants

The 106 students who participated in the 1999 VFW-sponsored Voice of Democracy (VOD) and Youth Essay contests at Edgren were recognized during Edgren High School's student assembly held this February. As part of the Youth Essay recognition program, each participant received a certificate from VFW District II. The five Youth Essay winners each received an additional certificate (shown in the pictures) from VFW Post 9450 in addition to the US Savings Bonds awarded. Pictures of the winners are shown below, by grade.
　

*7th grade (Youth Essay)*	*8th grade (Youth Essay)*	*High School (VOD)*

Rachel Tagum	Christopher Schof, Chris Silvania and Ashley Dawkins. (Unfortunately, first prize winner Amy Nixon was absent. See her picture above.)	Runner-up Nichole Finklea and winner Kristin Giuliano

American School in Japan recognizes Youth Essay winners

The American School in Japan recognized their 1999 VFW-sponsored Youth Essay contest winners in a brief ceremony on 11 April 2000. Each winner received a certificate from VFW Post 9450 in addition to a U.S. Savings Bond. Pictures of the event were provided courtesy of ASIJ.


Robert Lord - our First Prize winner		From Left to Right - Mr. Andrew Hoover, 8th grade Social Studies teacher, Megan, Robert, and Mr. Tim Ilse, Middle School Principal		Megan Lobeck - our Second Prize winner

Edgren High School Student Garners $100.00 for School Year 2001 ~2002 Youth Essay Scholarship Entry
　

Rachel San Luis, an eighth-grader from Edgren High School at Misawa AB, Japan, blew away intense competition to win this year's contest. Runners-up from Edgren were Kyle S. Bowen and Michael Cabuco. Rachel is pictured on the right. Sorry, no pictures of the runners-up. Jolly good show, Rachel! Keep it up.

(Rachel is a member of the National Junior Honor Society, an Honor Roll student who maintains a 4.0 grade point average, editor of her class newspaper, plays piano, clarinet and violin, a member of the Edgren Intermediate Band, member of the Edgren Step Team and practices Tan Soo Do (a Korean martial art). Her hobbies are reading, listening to music, sketching and snowboarding.)

Edgren High School Voice of Democracy Winner for School Year 2002~2003
　

We are pleased to announce that Hannah Roach, Edgren High School Senior, has won the VFW's "Voice of Democracy" contest as the sole entrant at the Post 9450 level. VFW Post 9450 will award her a $100.00 U.S. Savings Bond and forward her entry to the next level of competition. Our best wishes to you, Hannah.
　

Post 9450 Voice of Democracy and Patriot's Pen sponsorship starts a new era in 2003-2004

This year marks a new high point in our Post sponsorship as we sponsor these programs at a total of nine schools under the tender care of our Chairman for this effort, Ken Smith. Sponsored schools included Sacred Heart International School, Nishimachi International School, Seisen International School, St. Mary's International School, The American School in Japan (ASIJ), and the Christian Academy in Japan in the Tokyo area, Edgren Schools and the Faith Baptist Academy in Misawa, Japan, and one last-minute entrant from Ernest J. King High School in Sasebo. Our Voice of Democracy and Patriot's Pen winners will each receive a $100.00 US Savings Bond and be forwarded for further competition (National winners receive scholarships of up to $25,000). Our Voice of Democracy runner-up will receive a $50.00 US Savings Bond.
　

...and our 2003-2004 winners are...
　

　

Voice of Democracy

Voice of Democracy runner-up

Patriot's Pen

No picture provided

Lara V. P Deguzman

Cassaundra Vergel

Serena Tanaka

　

About our winners... these factors were not presented or considered during the competition, but...
　

Lara started public speaking in the 5th grade, participating and winning 1st place in 4-H Tropicana Public Speaking County and District Competition. She is a Junior at E. J. King High School, a member of the National Honor Society, and her first Junior Science and Humanities Symposium formal presentation (JSHS science fair) took 5th place. This is her third year in the symposium. She also had an essay, "The Life of a Military Child," published in the 2003 On the Move magazine. Currently preparing for her second year in the Drama and Speech Far East Festival, she still likes to play tennis and softball, as well as read, write, and spend time with friends and family.

The picture at the right shows Lara being presented with her VOD Participant Certificate by E. J. King Vice Principal George Man.

Cassaundra is a Sophomore attending The American School in Japan (ASIJ). She is the sophomore class president and actively participates in other school-related activities such as JV girls basketball, volleyball, theater, and choir. Outside of school, Cassaundra practices ballet and loves to listen to music. She is originally from Seattle, Washington. Serena Tanaka & Mr Ilse

　

Serena is in the 8th grade at The American School in Japan (ASIJ).

The picture at the right shows Mr. Tim Ilse, ASIJ Middle School Principal, presenting Serena with the $100.00 US Savings Bond she garnered from VFW Post 9450 as the winner at that level of competition.

Joint Royal British Legion (RBL)/VFW Award Brunch
　

An October 2003 Brunch was held at the New Sanno Hotel, sponsored by Post 9450 under the aegis of District II, Department of Pacific Areas, VFW, to honor RBL member Will Stubbs and his many contributions to veterans in the Tokyo and Yokohama areas. All RBL members were invited. During the brunch, District Commander Frank Hunter awarded Mr. Stubbs a Certificate of Appreciation for his accomplishments .

RBL Chairman Tony Leaver, with his lovely wife Yoshiko and son. Will Stubbs, surrounded by RBL and VFW members, with his Certificate of Appreciation. VFW members "on the make."

VOD and Youth Essay results for 2004 - 2005

This year we again sponsored these programs in nine schools, but the results were disheartening to say the least. The only entries received were seven Patriot's Pen entries from Edgren Middle School at Misawa Air Base. Having said that, kudos and our sincere thanks to Ms. Missy Murphy of Edgren Middle School and our chairman for this year's effort, Herbert Peterson, for the time and effort they put forward to realize these results. To Richard G. Robinson, Sarah G. de los Santos, Lani Diaz, Christine M. Stansbery, Kenneth E. Woods, Courtney N Bell, and Stephanie L. Krills, thank you for participating.

The winner for this year, Richard G. Robinson, will receive a US $100.00 savings bond from Post 9450, and runner-up Sarah G, de los Santos will receive a US $50.00 savings bond from the Post. At this time, Richard has already won the competition at District II (Japan) level, so he will also receive an appropriate prize from District II. All participants will receive certificates of appreciation for their participation.


Richard G. Robinson	Edgren participants with Missy Murphy	Sarah G. de los Santos

VOD and Youth Essay results for 2005- 2006

his year we again sponsored these programs in nine schools, with a total of 17 Patriot's Pen entries (15 from Edgren High School and 2 from ASIJ) and 1 Voice of Democracy entry (from ASIJ). To all of the participants, you all did well as the competition was keen, and we hope you will continue to challenge these contests throughout your middle and high school days. We thank the people who have been helping us in the schools, especially Mr. Tim Olsen of ASIJ and Ms. Missy Murphy of Edgren High School. It would be very difficult to have achieved the success we have with these programs without your personal involvement.

This year we are trying something new. In the past, for the most part, we have recognized one winner in each contest from all entries garnered by the Post. Starting this year, we will attempt to recognize one winner in each contest for each participating school to provide greater recognition to the students.

And the Winners are....

		Picture not provided
Andrea Blackburn	Serena Tanaka	Allyssa Shayne Holmes
Patriot's Pen - ASIJ	Voice of Democracy - ASIJ	Patriot's Pen - Edgren

At the time of this writing, our Voice of Democracy winner for this year has already won the Japan-wide competition and come in 2nd in the Pacific-wide competition. All of the Post 9450 winners will receive suitable prizes for that level of competition, and Serena will receive additional prizes from each additional level won.

Congratulations to all of our winners for School Year 2005 - 2006.

VOD and Youth Essay results for 2006- 2007

Our Post winner in the Voice of Democracy contest for this year is our winner from last year, Serena Tanaka (see picture above). Again, Serena, who hails from ASIJ, will be provided a $100.00 US Savings Bond from our post. I regret having to mention it, but there were no submissions for the Youth Essay contest this year. In any case, our congratulations to Serena.

VOD and Youth Essay results for 2007- 2008

	Our Post winner in the Voice of Democracy contest for 2007-2008 is Erin Nicolai from Edgren School at Misawa Air Base. Erin will be receiving a US$100.00 Savings Bond from us this year, as well as the certificate we provide. Our judges for this year, Melina Herweg and Nicola Coburn, graciously took time away from their busy careers in publishing to to judge the essays.
Winner Erin Nicolai	Congratulations, Erin!	Our judges: from left to right, Melina Herweg and Nicola Coburn

Voice of Democracy	Voice of Democracy runner-up	Patriot's Pen
		No picture provided
Lara V. P Deguzman	Cassaundra Vergel	Serena Tanaka


RBL Chairman Tony Leaver, with his lovely wife Yoshiko and son.	Will Stubbs, surrounded by RBL and VFW members, with his Certificate of Appreciation.	VFW members "on the make."