Mother's Day Essay Contest winners announced

A total of 81 essays were received for The Holton Recorder’s eighth annual Mother’s Day contest. This year’s theme was “Why My Mother Is The Best.”

Students at Holton, Jackson Heights and Royal Valley schools submitted essays, and a top winner and honorable mention were selected from three age divisions - high school, middle school and grade school. 

Megan Keehn, 16, a junior at Royal Valley High School, took first place in the high school division with her essay about her mother, Paula.

Joshua Klobnak, 12, a fifth-grade student at Royal Valley Middle School, wrote the winning essay in the middle school division with a tribute to his mother, Tina.

In the elementary school division, Lorna Smith, 9, a third-grade student at Holton, took first place with her essay about her mother, Beth.

Holton Pizza Hut is providing a free medium size, two-topping pizza to each of the winning essay authors and their mothers. 

Honorable mention winners include Skylar Arketa (second grade at Jackson Heights), Rylan Pittaway (third grade at Holton), Faith Jenner (third grade at Holton), Karlie Albright (fifth grade at Royal Valley), Derrick Barger (junior at Royal Valley) and Lillian Jessepe (junior at Royal Valley).  

The winning essays are listed below. Additional essays can be found at http://www.holtonrecorder.net/news/additional-mothers-day-essays

By Lorna Smith

First Place, Elementary School

My mother is the best mother in the universe. Nobody could replace her. She is an encouraging person. With everything I do, she is there to support me. 

My mom is helpful. She is always there to correct me, or what I have to make better. She is fun. She loves to sing and dance. Mrs. Mom is also smart. I learn a lot from her. My mother is the best principal, too. She is awesome, and I love her. I’m glad she is my mom. 

My mother does a lot for me. She (sometimes) fixes my dinner, washes my clothes, occasionally helps me with my homework and cares for me at all times. (Especially when I’m sick.) She also helps me feed my rabbit. I love my mom.

My mother works very hard to earn money to support our family. She is very good at her job. My mom cares for our family by doing this. 

I could not live a day without my mother. She cares for me, helps me, encourages me and loves me. I don’t realize it, but I am very, very, very lucky to have a mom like I do. 

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By Joshua Klobnak

First Place, Middle School

My mother is the best because she is a nice caring person who will help you when you need it. She is also sometimes strict, but it is always for the best. 

She almost never yells at people and will protect me no matter what. She donates to charity, and she makes sure everything is good for our family. 

She also works all day to make sure our family can eat and drink and have shelter. She is an amazing mom. When I ask her for things she only gets them for me if she thinks I need them. She never does things that will hurt other people. She is basically Batmom. She is the best mom.

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By Megan Keehn

First Place, High School

My mom is the best. Not because she gives me money or because she buys me everything I want, but because she supports me through times of hardships. 

My mother is the best because she was a single parent throughout my childhood and did everything she possibly could to make sure my sister and I had what we needed in order to be successful in our lives.

She goes out of her way to support me, whether it’s coming to my softball games, encouraging me to get better grades or even just talking to me after a long day. 

She is not only my mom but my best friend. She taught me to be the strongest and most open minded, optimistic person I could be, and I will forever be grateful for that. My mom is the best because she never puts me down or discourages me in any way. 

She fights for whatever is right, and no matter how much stress my sister and I may cause, she finds a way to endure and continue to be the best mom she can be. She hasn’t just provided material things that I need to get by through life, but the education and support I needed in order to grow up and be the best person I could be for the community, my teammates, my classmates, my family and even myself.