RICHMOND – Dear Elementary School music teacher Chelsea Jones is the Veterans of Foreign Wars.Missouri Citizenship Education Teacher of the Year.

Hardin-Central High School student Robbie Crippen took second in the VFW essay contest.

They received awards at Jefferson City on Saturday.

“The contest itself means a lot to veterans because, if we don’t incorporate veterans into the classroom, then the kids can’t be education about them,” Richmond VFW Senior Vice Commander Trish Fields said Sunday. “Teachers aren’t required to teach anything about veterans. Patriotism itself isn’t a mandated thing. … That’s something they get from their teachers, from their households. So when a teacher takes the time to instill these values, it shows me our community is getting it right.”

CHELSEA JONES

Nomination information from Fields describes Jones’ qualifications for the award.

“Chelsea Jones ensures all kindergarten and first-grade students memorize the National Anthem and tests them individually to ensure each word is correct and full etiquette is honored,” the information states. “Classrooms compete to see which room has an individual student learn it in its entirety first. During the school’s annual Veterans Day Assembly in November, Ms. Jones has the students perform patriotic songs, which are performed full of energy and love.”

The information states Jones’ love of music has been contagious throughout the Richmond School District, motivates students through a nurturing environment, is at work to expand the Sunrise Strikers Orff Ensembles for grades three through five, and assists in directing the sixth-grade band.

“She is also the assistant band director for high school, which has dramatically improved the musical focus and syncopation, elevating them to receive honors at district and state levels,” support information states.

Jones said she appreciates the recognition from veterans.

“I always tell my kids that (veterans) are the best audience that we could ever have, because they are so appreciative and they have done so much for us, and if we can do something for them by performing and singing for them, then that’s what we need to do,” she said. “It’s just so great to be appreciated by them.”

Jones said she has an appreciation for veterans.

“It comes from studying music,” she said Sunday, “and being around songs with meaningful words that elicit such emotion from people, and the history behind the songs that you study and you sing.”

Among the music Jones said she enjoys is The National Anthem.

“When you read those words and you think about what they mean, and Francis Scott Key, who wrote them, it’s pretty moving,” she said. “To be able to teach my kids about that and for them to perform (patriotic songs) for people who really know what it’s like to see the flag in the middle of battle, it means a lot.”

At the state level, Jones received a crystal apple on a stand, plus $300 for professional development. She will move on to the national level.

The national award comes with a $1,000 award for the teacher “for professional development expenses,” a $1,000 award for each winner’s school; plaques for the teacher and school; and a fully funded trip to the VFW convention in Washington.

Jones thanked Fields for the nomination, and for interacting with students at school assemblies. She also expressed gratitude to the VFW.

“I’m just very thankful and appreciative that they think I do a good job,” Jones said, “because that’s the goal, to try to thank them for what they have done for us.”

ROBBIE CRIPPEN

Hardin-Central High School student Robbie Crippen finished second in the VFW’s state essay contest. Crippen, who plays basketball and runs cross country and track, received a House proclamation and a $1,250 in scholarship funds.

Fields described Crippen’s essay as an “amazing essay” called “What makes America great.”

“It’s a really good essay and I cry every time I read it,” she said.

Crippen opens his essay with a description of Welles Crowther, 24, the “man in the red bandana,” who worked on the 104th floor of the World Trade Center. Instead of walking down the steps when terrorists drove a passenger jet into the building, he helped others.

“His attempt was to save the lives of other victims of that gruesome terrorist attack,” Crippen wrote. “He was fearless, he was strong, and in the spur of the moment, he became a hero.”

Crowther died saving others.

Crippen goes on to write that what makes America “the best country in the world” are veterans.

“If it wasn’t for their sacrifices, Americans would not have the freedoms that we have today,” Crippen wrote. “If it was not for the brave men and women who stood up and defended this blessed nation, we wouldn’t be the same United States of America.”

Near the conclusion, Crippen describes an incident from his life: “When I was a young boy, I once met a man, sitting in a local restaurant in a military uniform. I approached the man, who was drinking his morning coffee, and I sat down across from him. I shook his hand and thanked him for his service. When the man stood up to order another cup of coffee, I had realized that he was missing his leg. When I asked him if he lost his leg during combat, he was silent. I told him that I was sorry for asking him such a personal question. I noticed a tear rolling down his cheek. I sat there in silence for a moment, regretting that I had even asked that question. He looked at me and told me that he lost his best friend in the same incident he lost his leg. I felt sorry for the man, but I also felt honored to sit in the presence of an American hero.”