Vitae announces winners of life issues essay contest

Darby Nolting, eighth-grader at Linn Middle School, and Trevor Wieberg, senior at Fatima High School, were grand prize winners in Vitae Foundation's 2016 Essay Contest on Life Issues. Each threw a ceremonial first pitch before the start of the July 20 St. Louis Cardinals game in St. Louis.
Darby Nolting, eighth-grader at Linn Middle School, and Trevor Wieberg, senior at Fatima High School, were grand prize winners in Vitae Foundation's 2016 Essay Contest on Life Issues. Each threw a ceremonial first pitch before the start of the July 20 St. Louis Cardinals game in St. Louis.

A Linn eighth-grader and a Westphalia 12th-grader are this year's grand prize winners in Vitae Foundation's Essay Contest on Life Issues.

Darby Nolting, eighth-grader at Linn Middle School, and Trevor Wieberg, senior at Fatima High School, claimed the top grand prize. Each threw a ceremonial first pitch before the start of the July 20 St. Louis Cardinals game. The essay 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. Nolting's essay was titled "My Life with A Brother's Addiction," while Wieberg wrote about "Banning Abortion." 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 during the 2016 season.

The grand prize winners and each class winner received four box-seat tickets. All other contest entrants received four seats in the sections reserved for the Osage County Night attendees.

To read the winning essays, go to vitaefoundation.com/blog.

Additional winners included Cheyenne Hemeyer, senior at Chamois High School; Hannah Eisterhold, sophomore at Fatima High School; Jacob Knaebel, freshman at Fatima High School; David Kempker, eighth-grader at Osage County R-3; Paul Boeckmann, eighth-grader at Immaculate Conception in Loose Creek; Samantha Brandt, eighth-grader at St. George in Linn; Alese Stratman, eighth-grader at Sacred Heart in Rich Fountain; and Masan Stuecken, eighth-grader at St. Joseph School in Westphalia.