Commander Frank Healey of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of Post 10092 in Barnegat Township announced the kick-off of this year’s VFW’s Voice of Democracy Scholarship and Patriots Pen competitions.

For Voice of Democracy, high school students must write and record a three- to five-minute essay on the selected theme using an audio CD or flash drive and present their recording, typed essay and completed entry form. The theme selected is “Is This The Country the Founders Envisioned?”