Paralyzed Veterans of America announces winners of 2018 Veterans Day National Poster and Poem Contest

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Media Contact: Liz Deakin LizD@pva.org, 202-416-7627

WASHINGTON (November 9, 2018) — Paralyzed Veterans of America is pleased to announce the winners of its 2018 Veterans Day National Poster and Poem Contest: 4th grader Madilynn Winger from Bellevue Elementary in Bellevue, NE is the grand prize winner in the poster category (see submission here), and 5th grader Michael Franco from Horace W. Porter School in Columbia, CT is the grand prize winner in the poem category (see submission here).

“Congratulations to Madilynn and Michael on winning this year’s Veterans Day Poster and Poem Contest,” said David Zurfluh, national president of Paralyzed Veterans of America. “We received many entries from students across the nation. We thank all of the students who participated and showed their wonderful support for our country’s disabled veterans.”

Grade category winners include:

The Grand Prize winners of the poster category and poem category have won a trip to the 2019 National Veterans Wheelchair Games in Louisville, Kentucky. Grand Prize winners will also have their winning entries featured on Paralyzed Veterans of America’s website and in PN magazine (Paraplegia News).

This year’s contest theme was, “Help Our Veterans Be UnstoppABLE in Your Community.” Using their own words, images and creativity, children were asked to draw a poster or write a poem showing or telling how they can help make their community more accessible for veterans who use wheelchairs. The winners were selected based on the poster and poem that received the most votes/“likes” on Facebook.

Paralyzed Veterans of America launched the nationwide contest 15 years ago as a way to actively involve the country’s youth in celebration of Veterans Day and to promote greater awareness of our nation’s veterans and the sacrifices they have made to ensure the freedoms citizens enjoy daily.