Congratulations to Ruby C. Howe, daughter of VP of Business Development Chris Howe, who was recently named the 2020 National Winner of the VFW Patriot’s Pen Contest.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars annually invites middle-schoolers to enter its Patriot’s Pen essay contest that encourages young minds to examine America's history – along with their own experiences in modern American society – by drafting a 300- to 400-word essay on a specific theme.

More than 130,000 students participate each year to compete for a portion of over $900,000 in state and national awards. The 2020 essay competition theme was “What Makes America Great.”

Ruby’s winning essay titled “America: Creating a Quilt of Diversity” focused on how diversity makes America great and how pieces of cloth in a quilt are like different people from all different places around the globe. You can check out her full essay here.

As the 2020 Patriot’s Pen winner, Ruby receives a total of $6,400 in awards, and will visit Washington D.C later this month for a private tour of the White House along with other festivities. Congratulations to Ruby and the entire Howe family on this national award!