The VFW St. Juvin Post 1336 in Coal City and the Coal City Unit 1 school board recognized the winners of the Patriot’s Pen Essay Awards for 2026 during the school board meeting on Wednesday, March 4.
The board and the VFW came together to honor Era Bakii, Olivia Beach, Jake Benson, Michael Calderon, Jillian Erhard, Lilian Harding, Reagan Jeschke, Ryleigh Kargle, Callie Lehnus, and Reese Shute.
151 students Coal City students entered the contest, with Lilian Harding’s essay winning first place.
Harding’s essay will move on to the state level in the contest.
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