The Americanism Committee is pleased to announce a National Americanism Poster Contest.  This new contest will be directed at students in the 4^th or 5^th grades, depending on which grade year the American Revolution is taught in their educational system.  The National Society Elementary School Poster Contest will stimulate interest in American History in support of the Fourth or Fifth Grade Curriculum.  The topic for the Poster Contest will be set by the Americanism Committee at each Spring Trustee’s Meeting for the upcoming fall school year.  The contest will be judged at the National Congress each year.  A representative of the National Art Education Association (NAEA) will be invited to participate in the poster judging.

The topic for 2008 - 2009 year’s contest is:

Posters will be judged by the following criteria:

1. Does the poster express the annual theme?
   
   
2. Does the poster show originality by the student?
   
   
3. Does the poster show evidence of research?
   
   
4. Does the poster show artistic merit and creativity?
   
   
5. Does the poster accurately reflect the historical event?
   
   
6. Is the poster neat and visually pleasing?

The winner from each local school will compete at Chapter level and the then the Chapter winner will compete at State level.  Once the State Society has selected a winner, it will represent the State Society at the National Level.  Only one entry from each State will be accepted.   The State Winners will be on display during National Contest and the 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd Place Winners will be announced during National Congress.  The top National winners will receive a Rosette Ribbon and a monetary award that will be funded from the Americanism Trust Fund.

The entry form will be filed with the Executive Director with a copy to the Chairman of the Americanism Committee by June 1 prior to Congress, where the judging will occur.

The posters must be submitted to the Headquarters Office at the Annual Congress by 11:00 AM of the Sunday prior to the Youth Awards Luncheon. Please affix a copy of the entry from to the back of the poster (you may redact the SSN on the copy of the entry form attached to the back of the poster).   This will allow a representative from the State Society to bring the poster to Congress and eliminate the need for mailing the poster.   The posters will be displayed and the Americanism Committee members will judge the Posters immediately following the National Memorial Service. The poster submitted by the first place winner will be displayed at NSSAR headquartes for one year following the contest.  At the conclusion of that year the poster will be returned to the state society that entered the poster. All other posters will be made available for return to the State Society submitting them.

With the creation of this new contest and award, the Americanism Committee feels this completes total involvement of all our youth by the National Society.  We encourage you to get your chapter started on this great new program!  If you have any questions, please contact Americanism Chairman.