Two Fatima High School students are this year’s grand prize winners in Vitae Foundation’s Contest on Life Issues. Malory Kloeppel of Westphalia, a 10th grader at Fatima High School, and Jonathan Schwartz of Freeburg, a 12th grader at Fatima High School, claimed the top grand prizes. Each threw out a ceremonial first pitch before the start of the August 1 St. Louis Cardinals game. The contest was a component of Osage County Night at the Ballpark.
Vitae’s essay contest engaged the younger residents of Osage County in the discussion of life issues. Kloeppel’s essay was titled: “Abolish Abortion,” while Schwartz’s was titled: “Destroy the Death Penalty.” The essay contest was made possible through a generous grant from the Alphonse J. Schwartze Foundation, which is also funding a radio ad campaign for Vitae on the St. Louis Cardinals Radio Network, the largest in Major League Baseball.
“As usual, the response to the contest was tremendous! We received essays on topics ranging from abortion to the death penalty and quite a few on bullying. The grant allowed us to give four tickets to the first 125 contest entrants in the sections reserved for the Osage County Night attendees. Vitae provided $25 gift cards to the remaining entrants. The students’ parents and teachers should be very proud. Great job to all!” Vitae Senior Market Director Stacey Kromer stated.
The grand prize winners and each class winner received four box-seat tickets. Additional winners included:
► Mary Jo Feller, Grade 11, Osage County R-II, Linn
► AnnaBelle Massman, Grade 9, Osage County R-III, Fatima
► Alex Reinkemeyer, Grade 8, Immaculate Conception, Loose Creek
► J. D. Kruger, Grade 8, Osage County R-II, Linn
► Lydia Brunnert, Grade 8, St. Joseph, Westphalia
► Lilly Meyer, Grade 8, St. George, Linn
► Erin Fick, Grade 8, Sacred Heart, Rich Fountain
► Charidy Kaullen, Grade 7, Osage County R-II, Linn
► Emily Robinson, Grade 7, Osage County R-III, Fatima
► Curtis Deeken, Grade 7, St. George, Linn
► Cody Kampeter, Grade 7, St. Joseph, Westphalia
The All-Star Staff Contest included a first pitch opportunity, batting practice, personal photo in the Cardinals dugout, a VIP tour of Busch Stadium, passes to the Cardinals Hall of Fame along with All-Star Suite tickets. Beth Parrish, a 7th and 8th grade teacher at St. George, Linn, and Jessica Braun, a 7th grade teacher at Immaculate Conception School in Loose Creek, had the highest student participation by percentage.