Leslie Coughlin of Minot and Karter Lesmann of Burlington were named among four North Dakota League of Cities "Hometown Heroes" at a ceremony held during the NDLC annual conference Sept. 22-24 in Fargo.
When flooding took place and a location was needed for the storage of donated goods from around Ward country, Coughlin secured a warehouse for the Souris River Basin Unmet Needs Committee. But her service did not stop there. She secured and personally delivered a fork lift, pallet jack and golf cart. Through her contacts she also made sure that the managers of the warehouse received meals.
Lesmann is a volunteer fire chief for the City of Burlington. Event coordinators said he has devoted an incredible amount of time and effort to seeing that his community's residents are safe, and that all of the volunteer fire fighters remain safe as they provide service.
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Coughlin is the current chair for Souris Valley United Way, a member of the Minot Lions' Club and is on the executive committee of the Minot State University Board of Regents.
Since the beginning of 2011, Lesmann has worked for hundreds of hours fighting the flood. Despite the odds against success, he did not give up, and worked many sleepless nights throwing sandbags and directing flood fight efforts. He went well beyond his scope of duties to help all city residents and is currently helping with cleanup.
The Hometown Hero Award program was started nine years ago and annually honors community volunteers for their efforts to make their cities better places to live.
The North Dakota League of Cities provides services and gives voice to the collective concerns of the state's 357 cities. The League's mission, "Service, advocacy, leadership education and support," expresses the many programs and services offered by the League.
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Essay contest announced
ARLINGTON, Va. U.S. high school students and their teachers are invited to participate in the Bill of Rights Institute's sixth annual Being an American Essay Contest.
The largest contest of its kind in the country, the Being an American Essay Contest explores the Founding principles outlined in the Constitution. The contest is administered by the Bill of Rights Institute, a non-profit educational organization in the Washington, D.C. area devoted to educating young people about the Constitution and Founding principles. The 2011-12 contest is sponsored by the History Channel.
"This contest is unique in that it gives students the opportunity to think about the important Founding principles communicated in our Constitution," said Jason Ross, Bill of Rights Institute vice president of education programs.
Specifically, students are asked to share their thoughts on the Constitution by answering the following question: "How does the Constitution establish and maintain a culture of liberty?"
The top three student winners from each of five geographical regions will be awarded cash prizes of $1,000 (first place), $500 (second place), and $250 (third place). Teacher sponsors for each student winner will also receive a cash prize of $100.
More than 80,000 students have participated in the essay contest since it began in 2006.
"We are pleased to support the Bill of Rights Institute's Being an American Essay Contest," said Libby O'Connell, senior vice president for corporate outreach and chief historian, History Channel. "The contest encourages students to think critically and truly makes the past relevant in their lives today."
For more information, including submission criteria, lesson plans, background information and complete contest details are available at (www.BillofRightsInstitute.org/Contest).