The Illinois Society of the War of 1812 held its annual meeting at the reconstructed Hill’s Fort near Greenville, Ill.
During the meeting, Eric Reelitz, the Society’s chairman for the Charles Schweizer Essay Contest, announced the winners of this year’s contest and presented awards to the winners.
Kyra Wells, a 10th grade student at Bond County Unit #2 High School won third place for her essay: The Battle of Bladensburg and New Orleans within the Prolonged and Austere War of 1812. Kyra was president of her freshman class and is involved in the musical play. She volunteers at the local pregnancy center and was first in her class with a 4.0 GPA. She is also active in other writing and speech competitions. Kyra plans to attend college to earn a degree in social work or counseling.
During the meeting, Greenville, Ill. resident Kevin Kaegy presented a program on the Whiteside family, many of whom served in the War of 1812.
The goals of the Illinois Society of the War of 1812 are to cooperate with other patriotic organizations to achieve mutual goals; encourage patriotism and patriotic education; promote historic preservation; make every effort to have a gravestone marker placed on the grave of any War of 1812 soldier buried in Illinois; recognize outstanding cadets through the ROTC programs at Illinois educational institutions; and sponsor an essay contest for students aged 14-18. Information on the essay contest is available on the Society website: http://illinois1812warsociety.org/
For more information on the Illinois Society or its programs, contact Jim DeGroff, 618 667 8660.
