Three Demopolis citizens have been chosen to receive the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5377 community awards for 2009.

The award winners were determined by VFW Post 5377 and its Ladies Auxiliary, and will be presented by District 6 commander Luther Parden and Marengo Memorial VFW Post 6022 commander Billy Drake during an assembly at the schools at a later date.

Demopolis recipients include:

Sergeant First Class Michael Black, a Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC) instructor at Demopolis High School, was selected as the recipient of the National Teachers Citizenship Education Award for Grades 9-12 for VFW Post 5377. Black was also selected as the first-place recipient of the award for District 6 of the Department of Alabama VFW.

This award recognizes the nation’s top elementary, middle school and high school teachers who teach citizenship education topics regularly and promote America’s history and institutions.

Rebecca England, a senior at Demopolis High School, was selected as the recipient of the Marengo Memorial VFW Post 5377 and Ladies’ Auxiliary “Voice of Democracy Patriot” essay writing contest for grades 9-12.

Each year, students compete for scholarships by writing and recording a broadcast script on an annual patriotic theme. The 2009 theme was “Does America Still Have Heroes?”

Rachel England, an eighth-grade student at Demopolis Middle School and the sister of high school recipient Rebecca England, was selected as the recipient of the Marengo Memorial VFW Post 5377 and Ladies’ Auxiliary Patriot’s Pen patriotic essay writing contest for grades 6-8.

This essay contest gives students an opportunity to write essays expressing their views on demo-cracy. The 2009 theme was “When is the Right Time to Honor Our Military Heroes?”

She was also selected as the third-place recipient of the same award for District 6 of the Department of Alabama VFW.