This Saturday, Julia Helbig will present her voice of democracy writing at a banquet in Sparta, Illinois. In November, Julia won the Voice of Democracy contest at the school level and read her paper at the Okawville Veterans Day Assembly. She then also went on to win at the district level. She is now going on to compete at the state level. This year, the Voice of Democracy writing prompt was, “How are you showing your patriotism and support for our country?” I asked Julia how she felt about making it this far, and she responded, “I’m excited and very hopeful that I can make it to state, but if not, I’m very proud of how far I’ve come.” Julia has come a very long way, and we are all very proud and hoping that she can continue to suceed in the contest.