Someone Special Essay Winners Announced

April is Child Protection Month and time for the Grant County Child Protection Team’s annual Someone Special essay contest. Each winner received two movie passes and a framed essay for themselves and their special person. Winners from grades three through eight read their essay during the chapter’s meeting on April 18. Winning this year’s contest were: Wyatt Locke (3rd grade), Jessel Stengel (4th grade), Sunne DeBoer (5th grade), Mallory Falk (6th grade), Emily VanHoorn (7th grade), and Allison Leddy (8th grade).

The winning essays:
Wyatt Locke – 3rd grade
Written about his Grandma Nancy
Someone that is very special to me is my Grandma Nancy. She is always there to have fun with me. She always says yes to all my questions and is there to study with me and all my cousins. The reason I like her best is because she is there to take care of me. I enjoy when she plays checkers or board games with me and when she ALWAYS spoils me. She lets me sleepover at her house when my mom and dad are going somewhere special or just for fun.
The cookies she makes are the best I have ever tasted. On my first day of preschool I got stung by a wasp and I knew she was a nurse and she fixed me up right away. My grandma always encourages me and that’s how I do my best. She lets me do chores at my house so I can save up my money buy a drone and a Windows tablet. When I do ever get a tablet I will be sure to thank her mostly for helping me get what I want. Speaking of what I want, for my eighth birthday she got me all the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books and a Nerf football.
When I sleepover at her house I usually spend all my time playing checkers with her or playing four-square with her. She makes the best meal EVER (same as McDonalds). The food she makes are like macaroni and cheese with the best hot dogs ever. The time spent at her house is like the time spent at a water park or Disneyland or both times ten trillion. I always have fun with her and she always has fun with me. I will always remember her as one of the best grandmas ever.

Jessel Stengel – 4th grade
Written about her uncle, Bryan Schmidt
Someone Special to me is my Uncle, Bryan Schmidt. He is one very important person in my life. Out of my many choices, I chose him because he is funny, loving, kind, and much more.
My uncle Bryan is very, very funny. Whenever I tell him a joke or ask him funny questions, he always answers the wrong answer. When I tell him it isn’t correct, he just says, “Oh,” and we all laugh. He always wears the same hat, and when we tell him that it is dirty and that he needs a new one he doesn’t do anything, just sits there continuing what he is doing. He is also funny by just being himself. I guess he is just a funny person in general.
He also loves fishing. But so does my mom and brothers (my mom’s sister lives in Sioux Falls so she doesn’t really get the chance to fish.) Whenever he comes over and sees us we go fishing no matter the season.
Next, he is helpful. He always helps my mom clean at my grandma’s house. He helps clean the old barn that is a mess. He also helps me. He helps me pick up heavy things that I can’t move on my own. He is very strong. He always helps me get bait when we go fishing, he puts the bobber on it, and sometimes casts my fishing pole.
My uncle Bryan is loving too. Whenever we are at his house we are pretty much spoiled. He bought us ice cream and shakes last time we went. He always gets extra hugs when we leave though! But, he always gets extra hugs because I love him.
Lastly, he likes making up funny nicknames for us. His most common name is Buddy, for me and my brothers. Sometimes it is different but that’s the usual. He just likes that name I think. One time I told him that I was a lady and that he should have a special name for me so he called me one of the oddest names you could possibly think of, and I said that buddy was okay.
I love my uncle Bryan. He is very special to me. Above are just some of the reasons he is my special someone.

Sunne DeBoer – 5th grade
Written about her brother – Kaleb DeBoer
My special person is my brother, Kaleb DeBoer. He is special to me because he has time for everybody. One time he helped grandpa with carrying things. Grandpa said that he could get it, but Kaleb knew that he couldn’t so he grabbed a huge box and carried the box inside. Even though I was four I still remember this.
Kaleb is also special to me because he makes me smile. Well, not just me but almost everybody. He is friends with most people, even Mr. Snaza his principal! When he was at Boys State he became friends with a very important person just by making an impression. Sometimes Kaleb and I make jokes about his height. Sometimes I tell him to duck so he doesn’t hit his head on the ceiling.
Even though Kaleb makes me laugh he listens to me and makes me feel like I’m his favorite sister. Sometimes he does his regular brother-thing like playing video games, but he still has time for me. Every two weeks he goes to his dad’s house, that is when I get my stories. When he gets home I tell him about what happened in band like when Mr. Boerger put away the band music instead of the third grade music.
Kaleb is also special to me because he is a genius. Since he is smart he helps me with my homework, which is an inspiration to Hunter and me. Also since Kaleb is a genius, he has great scores on his tests which makes me want to go to school to be like him. Without him, I wouldn’t want to study or be smart. Like I said, Kaleb is a genius and an inspiration to me and others.
Those were the reasons why Kaleb is my “someone special”. I don’t really say nice things about my brother, but I still love him. Kaleb is going to college in August, and I want to treat him for putting up with me. Without Kaleb I don’t know what I would do.

Mallory Falk – 6th grade
Written about her brother – Andrew Falk
My someone special is my brother Andrew because he always makes me laugh and smile. I love to hang out with Andrew and have fun. We love games and movies.
When Andrew was three years old he was diagnosed with Autism. What I love about Andrew is that he doesn’t let his Autism get in his way. Andrew and I both like music. We love to watch TV together. In the summer we love to go kayaking and play Uno. We love to talk. We love Netflix and playing on our Wii.
It is hard to imagine life without Andrew. It would probably be boring and lonely. Andrew is one of my best friends. I love to talk to Andrew and have fun going places like the movies or the lake.
Andrew is 17. He goes to Milbank High School. He’s a junior in high school. When he goes off to college I’ll be sad. Watching him grow has been fun and I’ll be sad when it’s over. So that’s my someone special and I love him!

Emily VanHoorn – 7th grade
Written about her Grandma
Everyone usually loves someone with all their heart. Whether it’s family or just a friend. When this special person is around you light up and smile. You just don’t wake up thinking “oh this is my special person,” right off the top of your head. It is hard to have a best friend or person that you barely know. My special person makes me shine every day, even when I’m not feeling the best.
My grandma is the greatest person anyone could meet. There is no one else like my grandma. Why my grandma makes life spectacular is in the things she does for my family. My grandparents live next door so it is easy to see them and talk to them because they are always there. My grandma was the person in my family that I inherited my name. So that makes me feel unique. One other reason is because my grandma taught me how to be myself. When I was younger I had trouble making friends and was often picked on. But going to grandma and tell her my pain made me feel at peace with the world. I like to be alone with my grandma because she tells me about the old days when she was my age. Seeing pictures made me giggle, would you ever think that I look just like her? As me and my grandma age we never forget each other or what we have gone through.
My grandma is my light in the dark. Never will I ever feel the same since my grandma is here. My grandma would give me the world if she could, but we know that isn’t possible but she tries anyways. I get my determination from her. I wouldn’t ever give up, even when the road gets tough. She tells me every day never give up, stay strong.
My grandma is so inspiring, she is my number one best friend and that will never change. Your special person has to have a way right to your heart. They have to believe in you to keep their secrets safe. They trust in you. However you have to trust them too. Your special person is dearest to your heard and almost nothing could change that.

Allison Leddy – 8th grade
Written about her dad – Wade Leddy
My dad, Wade Leddy, is a very special and influential person in my life. He is the most hardworking and dedicated person I have ever met. All of his life he has worked on the family farm that has been passed down for many generations on the Leddy side. Anytime he starts something he makes sure it is done the right way and completely finished. My dad is always there to help with 4-H animals and spends most of his winter outside making sure that the new born babies are safe and everything is fed.
Every game or meet I have he tries everything he can to make it to the event. He can’t always come to every sporting event, but that is understandable because everyone is busy at some point. My dad pushed me to be my very best, and gives great pep talks and post meet talks. The cross country meets he can come to he spends most of the time running around the golf course cheering on every runner. For both basketball games and track meets he is up in the stands being my loudest fan which I greatly appreciate when I am exhausted and want to just be done. When I get done he is always there to give tips to help me become a stronger athlete so I can succeed like I want to when I am older.
Growing up on a farm has benefited my life in so many ways. Being in 4-H takes energy and time out of your summer. I definitely am grateful for my dad that he is always there to do chores for me if I am not home because I am involved in a lot of other activities. He is also there to push me to want to go outside and work on my animals because I don’t always do it willingly. He knows what’s best for the animals and how I can prepare for show days so I show up having my animals act and look their best.
My dad inspires me to want to work hard in school and to want to succeed. He does everything he can to make the farm a success and doesn’t give up when times are hard. These are just a few of the many reasons why my dad is an extremely special person in my life.