Members of Leominster-Fitchburg Elks recently resented awards to several local middle school students for their winning entries in the annual Elks Americanism Essay Contest.
A program of the Elks’ Grand Lodge Fraternal Committee, the yearly contest is geared towards students in grades five through eight to promote patriotism among young people. It starts with local lodges, progresses through district and state levels, and will end with the naming of awards presentation national winners at the Grand Lodge session in Chicago in July.
For the 2025-26 essay contest the committee selected the theme ‘What Does Service to Your Country Mean to You?’ On June 4 the area students who placed were recognized for their stellar writing, including Fall Brook Elementary School fifth grader Lana Senneville, who won first place from the Massachusetts Elks State Association and third place in the nation, and Hope Pearson, a St. Anna School seventh grader who won first place from the Massachusetts Elks State Association.
Hope, Lana, and their families were unaware of the state and national wins and Elks Essay Committee Chair Steve Dauphinais said they surprised them at the event held at the Leominster-Fitchburg Elks Lodge. Other winners include St. Anna School sixth graders Riley Ferrante, Eduardo Garcia, and Taraji Tetteh; St. Anna School seventh graders Nickolas Fernandes and Hope Pearson and Sky View Middle School seventh grader Zaniah Rivera; and St. Anna School eighth graders Zariah Beck and Ava Piermarini, who were unable to attend the awards dinner because of graduation night at their Leominster school.
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