Kathryn Doom was selected as the winner of the South Dakota VFW Voice of Democracy contest. Winners of the Voice of Democracy. Kathryn's audio essay was one of three from the Wagner Community School that advanced to District competition. Her essay was selected as the District 7 winner and advanced to the state to be judged along with the other 4 district winners. Her essay was selected as the best of the best and will now compete at the national level where she will receive a scholarship ranging for $1,000 to $30,000.

This was not a completely new experience for Kathryn. In 2017 she entered the VFW's Patriot's Pen Contest, which requires 6-8 grade students to write a patriotic essay. Kathryn's essay was selected as the state winner and placed 18th in the national contest. This is also the third year in a row that students from the Wagner Community School have won the state Voice of Democracy contest. Mackenzie Roberts and teachers who are instrumental in educating the children in our school district. Cassity Kerner, Nadia Mudder and Renee VanDerWerff have been responsible for the success the Wagner students have achieved in writing their essays for the Voice of Democracy contest.

The Voice of Democracy contest is open to students in grades 9-12. Students compete by writing and recording a 3-5 minute audio essay on an annual patriotic theme. This year's theme was, America: Where do we go from here?