This past Sunday, April 27, a wonderful celebration of community and patriotism took place in The Shoals, Alabama, as well as nationwide. This year, the Chief Colbert County chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the Revolution (NSDAR) honored the winners of the Junior American Citizens Awards (JAC) with prizes and ribbons at a quaint Baptist church in Tuscumbia.

Have you come across the Junior American Citizens before? I hadn’t either. I assumed the focus on teaching children about American history and patriotism had been overtaken by topics like gender studies and social emotional learning. It’s refreshing and uplifting to discover otherwise.

During his Thursday night address to the 2025 graduating class at the University of Alabama, President Donald Trump emphasized that building a “very, very strong America—stronger, prouder, better, and more unified than ever before” involves teaching our children and others to embrace American ideals and the American Dream. The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is dedicated to this mission: preserving history, fostering education, and promoting patriotism throughout the United States. The JAC program aims to instill these values early on, through educational activities, ceremonies, and meaningful symbolism, allowing patriotism and love for America to be both taught and naturally adopted.

That weight of patriotism and symbolism is the subject of this week’s Feel-Good Friday.

Thanks to Margaret Lovett of the Chief Colbert NSDAR for alerting me to this event.

So what is the Junior American Citizens Award? Since 1901, the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) has welcomed participation by elementary, middle, and high school students in this awards contest. The JAC offers contests in art, creative expression, and community service for grades pre-K-12 and any child is eligible to enter. No membership to the Children of the American Revolution or a Junior American Children’s club is required. 

The JAC contestant entries are judged by their grade on four levels: gifted artist/writer, general, special needs/special effect, and non-declared/unspecified. Every child may enter the contest regardless of ability. 

The 2025 JAC contest theme was: sailing with the Stars and Stripes to celebrate the 250th birthday of the US Navy and Marine Corps. All the contest entries – the writing, the poetry, and artist presentations – embodied this theme quite nicely, and each grade level showed tremendous talent and depth. Weighty subjects render weighty results.

But what was most delightful to observe was the enthusiasm and excitement of the children as they showed off their work and received their awards. You could tell that the children enjoyed delving into their topic, and had fun with the research of this aspect of American history.  

Kudos to the NSDAR for the attention to the symbolism and weight of our American ideals weaved throughout the event: from the presentation of the colors by the American Legion Colbert County Post 31, to the prayers by the NSDAR chaplain, to the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, these children were being weaved, steeped, and reinforced in the purpose of the history they had just learned. 

Scottie Floyd, the Vice Regent of Chief Colbert DAR congratulated the children and said:

I’m so proud of these young people. I know it takes a lot to get it done because it liked to have killed me and my crew to go through and pick out the winners. There were too many entries that were so good, and each and every one is a winner: it doesn’t matter if it’s first, second or third place. You all won big and I’m proud of you. 

The smiles on their little faces and the sense of pride speaks volumes.

Alabama gets a terrible rap for being at the bottom in terms of educational outcomes. The 2025 UA graduation class, and the students who received Junior American Citizens awards, belie the stats and information disseminated. These young people are motivated and engaged, and with the lessons in patriotism and American history they have learned, soaked up their assignment and delivered spectacularly. These elementary-aged kids in Gen Alpha are the generation to whom the Gen Z college graduates will pass the torch, so it is beautiful to see them already being steeped in what they need to pursue and further American ideals–and the American Dream.

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