Lemont Veterans of Foreign War Post #5819 honored sisters Maggie and Genna Yavaraski with their entry for the “Voice of Democracy” contest on Dec. 4, 2017.

The contest’s theme was “American History: Our Hope for the Future” and it judged the recorded audio presentations entries based on its content, originality, and execution. It commemorated the veterans, patriotism, and hope.

For the third consecutive year, junior Maggie Yavaraski was a post winner. Her freshman sister, Genna Yavaraski, was not only a post winner, but also finished as a district runner up.

Maggie and Genna Yavaraski were given the chance to read their written work to the VFW Post #5819 members Feb. 8, 2018 and Maggie Yavaraski focused on the sacrifices one has to make in  his or her life in order to pursue happiness and dreams of a better future. Due to bad weather, however, not many veterans were able to attend.

“My grandmother’s story of immigrating to America had inspired me to write about her hopes and dreams, along with [dreams of]  millions of other Americans, [and] what the future holds,” Maggie Yavaraski said.