First Place Essay
Alexis Prier - 1st Grade
My Dad, My Hero
My dad is the most amazing dad. He loves me for who I am,
even when I might not do the right thing. He is always here to help
me with my problems and would do anything for me. We have fun
playing on the Wii and cooking together. He is an awesome cook!
My dad is my hero and I love him very much.
-1 -
First Place Essay
Maezi Marrs - 2nd Grade
My daddy loves me, I love him, too. He is so kind. My daddy reads
stories with my two brothers and me. Daddy takes our family to the zoo.
Daddy plays Wii with my family.
Mrs. Beachy taught me that poetry is about touch, feeling, heart, and
head. I know this is not a poem as we were taught to write, but my daddy is a
poem, and these are our lines.
What does daddy mean to me? Most girls just like their Barbies. But
do they know who “Wasp” is? I love hearing and watching about heroes with
my daddy and two brothers.
Some words that describe my daddy are love, joy, mad, patient, kind,
nice, funny, fun, and cool. On Sunday mornings before church, daddy mixes
sugar, milk, food coloring, and graham crackers to make graham crackers and
icing. Yum!
I love when he carves our pumpkins. I also LOVE when daddy makes
snowmen with us. Daddy uses a real carrot and a joker cut-out as a sidekick!!!
In a nutshell, my daddy is just the best. My daddy loves me. My daddy
claps for me and winks for me, too! My daddy has love, joy, and patience
more than anyone I know! My daddy drills me in spelling too, don’t forget!!!
♥ for Daddy. He always signs his name My Daddy! at the end so I know he
is proud to be a daddy to me…
My Daddy, Chad Marrs, M.D.
-2 -
First Place Essay
Megan Lynn Burris - 3rd Grade
My father is cool and he takes care of me. Even though he is
not my real dad, he is better than my real dad. He sometimes lets me
get a toy from the store. He is very nice and he is going to marry my
mom. We play games together and we play Uno. We sometimes go
outside and play with Dooky. Dooky is my dog. Brad takes care of
Dooky, too.
Sometimes the whole family gets in the living room and we
play “Advanced” twister. We made up “Advanced” twister. How
you do it is you set up regular twister and my baby sister, Hannah,
waits until you are like doing the splits and then she gets in between
your legs and tries to make you fall over. Brad always falls down
first.
Sometimes, if I am good, he takes me to Sonic and lets me get a
medium shake. Brad is the best step dad in the whole entire galaxy.
He keeps me safe. He sometimes spoils me a bit! Brad means
everything to me. I love him very much and he knows that it is true.
Everyone thinks Brad is my real dad. I show them photos of me and
my real dad. My step brother’s real dad is Brad. He is my baby
sister Hannah’s dad. I treat him like he is my real dad.
-3 -
First Place Essay
Jackson Shade - 4th Grade
Hi, my dad is great! He’s fun and caring and…well, you will
learn more about him when you read this true story.
My dad is awesome! He has many attributes which you will
hear of in this paragraph. My dad is helpful and… well, fun!
Whether he’s helping me with my homework or teaching me to ride
a bike. In any situation, you know you can count on my dad.
Me and my family also do many activities together. For
example, in the summer we always take a walk at least once a week.
We also play many sports. Whether it’s as simple as Frisbee to Pool!
We also swim, play at parks, and play with our dog.
I love my dad. He’s the best dad in the whole world. Of
course, others must think so too. So, I will end this with, my dad
rocks!
-4 -
First Place Essay
Jonathan Wolsey - 5th Grade
What My Father Means to Me
To me, the words “My Father” means my loving dad, my supporter, and my hero.
I love my dad and he means a lot to me. We do fun things together, like bet on
who is going to win the Superbowl. I lost, but there is always next year. My dad
teaches me all kinds of things, like he taught me how to pitch when I started playing
baseball last year. I do not tell my classmates this, but he is also teaching me how to be
an awesome quarterback. My dad also helps me with my different school lessons, like
dividing.
My dad’s dad was hit by a drunk driver when my dad was a teenager. My grandpa
survived the accident, but it hurt him badly. My grandpa could not play ball with his
children after that. My grandpa died several years later due to some of his injuries from
the accident. My dad still misses his dad everyday. My dad works hard in trying to
spend a lot of time with me, my brother and sister because he knows that time does not
always last forever. I love my dad and I know that if he died, my body would stop
working. There are some people who do not have dads to cheer for them at soccer
games, like my dad does. I’m really lucky because my dad is here for me. Some dads
can’t be with their children because they are in the army, in jail, have died, or left for
another reason. I am glad that I have my dad around.
My dad is very giving and works at a juvenile detention center with kids who
made bad choices. My dad, sort of, becomes the dad to these kids when they are there
by making sure they are taken care of. He also tries to teach these kids how to make
good choices, just like a dad should do. I do not mind sharing my dad with these kids
because I know that everyone deserves to have a dad.
I sometimes tease my dad, because my dad thinks he is fat. I know that I should
have more respect for him and not call him names because I love him and would never
want to lose him. I have said this about one thousand times but I could never say it too
much, I LOVE MY DAD A LOT and I want him to know that he is THE BEST DAD
EVER!
-5 -
First Place Essay
Edward William Banks-Johnson Jr. - 6th Grade
The Dad I Will Never Know
My dad and mom both served in the United States Navy. They were
stationed in Maine, which is where I was born.
I said my first word when I was six months old. I took my first step when I
was nine months old. I said my first prayer. On all of my first school days, my
mom was there. I always noticed dads picking up my friends and not so much
moms. After so many years of the routine, I finally asked my mom why my dad
never picked me up. My mom told me it was because he was killed in a car
accident when I was two months old. My mom took me to Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania to visit my dad’s grave when I was 8 years old. I sat next to his
grave and stared at his picture on the gravestone. I remember crying for awhile
because I wanted to give my dad a hug and tell him how much I miss and love
him.
My mom was driving me to school one day and she noticed I was looking in
the sky most of the way there. She asked me what I was doing. I said, “I was
looking in the sky to see if my dad was watching me.” I remember mom crying
after that.
While playing soccer, I score goals and look up at my mom to see her face,
if only my dad was standing there next to her to share the same excitement.
When I graduate high school and college, I will see my mom standing there
so proud. If only my dad were there to stand proud next to my mom.
Mowing the lawn, learning how to drive, ride a bike, play catch in the
backyard, how to fish, boy scout camp outs, getting married, learning how to fix
things and being a man is something my mom will have to teach me because my
dad won’t be here to. No sense in asking God why my dad isn’t here for me. He
must have needed someone like my dad in heaven.
-6 -
First Place Essay
Ellie Closen - 7th Grade
What My Grandpa Meant to Me 
My grandpa meant so much to me. He taught me to never give up, no
matter how hard life gets. My grandpa fought cancer for over thirty years
and last year he passed away. That was a really tough time for my family. I
have shared some very special moments with him.
When my brother, Nathaniel, and I were younger, we went to my
grandpa’s house quite a lot. My grandpa had this little talking monkey that
sang the Macarena. Soon after we arrived at the house, we would always
find the monkey and listen to it in awe. One day we got to his house and
couldn’t find it anywhere. We searched and searched and finally we came to
the conclusion that it was gone. To this day, we still look for it!!!
My grandpa loved and cared for me so much. When I was little, he
videotaped me every chance he got. I am very grateful to still have those
tapes. They hold very hilarious and sweet times we shared together. It
always makes me smile when I pop one of those many tapes into the VCR.
My grandpa made sure he was at all my special events. He lived in
Illinois and he would take the train, fly, drive, come here any way he could if
we had something going on. He has given my family and I so much support.
As I said before, my grandpa battled cancer for a very long time. When
he was very sick and we went to visit him, he still made an effort to try to tell
us he loved us and give us kisses, even when he couldn’t even open his eyes.
It was very inspiring to see him push through his pain and stay happy when
we came. The doctors said he wouldn’t make it through that December but
he fought and fought all the way to April. That taught me to push through the
hard times in life and to never give up.
-7 -
First Place Essay
Christian Hosman - 8th Grade
The World’s Best Dad
My dad is Bruce Hosman. He is strong-hearted toward friends, family,
and people he doesn’t even know who come into his everyday life. I am
proud to say that he has been a foster parent for over 15 years, and he loves
it. Why? He loves it because he has a chance to change someone’s life.
How do I know that lives are changed? I know it because I am one of those
lives.
Dad changed my life because he had the heart to take me into his home
and take care of me. He changed my life forever by making me his own son.
On August 20, 2010, my name became Christian Xavier Hosman. For the
first time since I was six years old, I could say that I have a “real” family,
forever, with 10 kids who will always be there for each other!
I didn’t make it easy for my dad to adopt me. I pushed him away and
would not let him love me like a father should, because of all the hurt and
mistreatment in my past life. But I learned that “love is patient, love is kind,
and love is not jealous; love isn’t arrogant or rude” (1 Corinthians 12, NIV).
Also, love never stops hoping for the best and it never gives up. I love my
dad because he did not give up on me and he showed me the best love of all:
being my dad.
-8 -
First Place Essay
Daisy Johnson - 9th Grade
He is my shining light! He is my mentor, security, and giver of
affection. He is the one who guides me down the right path in life. This is a
father. Let me tell you about my father who I call Grandpa.
My Grandpa has been in my life since the first day I was born. He
loves to brush my hair and hold my hand in church. He taught me how to
ride my bike and how to fish. Every Thanksgiving, we fix the turkey
together and we spend every Christmas together. When I would spend the
night, we always had pancakes in the morning. My grandpa has come to all
of my band and music concerts. He watches me show my animals at the 4-H
fair and is always proud of my accomplishments. I have great memories of
taking naps with him when I was little and I would hug his belly and feel his
heart beat. I loved the feeling of his hands over mine when he washed my
hands before supper. I loved it when he gave me “Whisker Jobs” and it
would tickle my face and made me laugh.
My father happens to be the “Grandest Father”. My birth father left
when I was two years old. I was too young to remember anything about him.
I don’t know how his hands and face feels. I don’t know what his laugh
sounds like. I wonder what memories or traditions we would have made
together. I see a father as a title given to a male parent. The title Dad is
delivered from a child’s view. To be called “dad” is a title that is earned
when you are in a child’s life every step of the way. I am so thankful that I
have a wonderful grandpa who I think of as my dad.
-9 -
First Place Essay
Hudson Blakely - 10th Grade
A Father’s Love
Many people search all their life to find that unconditional and faithful
love, but only find it in their dreams. My father worked tirelessly to make his
son’s dreams of it a reality. Even before I could mutter his name, he had
already sacrificed more than I could imagine.
My father, much like too many children, was raised in a brutally
abusive home. Statistics would dictate that a man who was shown no love,
such as my father, would grow up to raise an abused family himself. Yet my
father is no statistic. Before I was born, he poured through every book he
could get his hands on, gained the advice of many counselors, and studied the
love given us by God the Father so that I could be granted that which was
denied him, the true love of a father.
As the years went on, Dad never missed a chance to prove that his love
for me was like no other. Any sport I tried to play he studied, aspiring to be
my coach and attend every game. I’ll never forget when I was a nine year
old baseball player up to bat for the PC Royals. I would have given the
world to hit a homerun and make my Daddy proud. Yet to my dismay, three
grueling strikes later, I walked head down to the dugout. Before I even got
there, I felt a gentle hand raise my chin and found myself looking into the
brilliant eyes of my father. “That one is behind you, let’s focus on the next.
No matter what happens, I’ll always be proud of you,” he would say, and he
always was. He may have only aspired to be a loving father, but he became
the very picture of unconditional love for me.
- 10 -
First Place Essay
Stacey Korte - 11th Grade
What my Father Means to Me
Throughout my life my father has meant strength, support, and love to
me. No matter what happens in life, I know, without a doubt, my father is
always going to be there for me. My father doesn’t judge me; he is always
there to help me through troubles in life.
I have watched some of my childhood home videos and though I don’t
remember learning to walk, my father was there, ready to steady me or catch
me if I fell. Today as I learn to walk through life, my father is still there,
steadying my stride and catching me if I fall.
My father has always been there for me. When I was young and he was
teaching me to ride my pink two-wheeler bike, with his hand on my back, he
calmed my fears. When I became a teenager, he taught me how to drive my
very first car and gave me confidence. He teaches me everything I need to
know in life, and he is why I am who I am today.
My father was there when I was first learning to swim and I remember
running and jumping into his arms to get in the pool. Even today, I know if I
get hurt or feel bad I can still run into his arms. I know he will hug me and
tell me something that will make everything better.
Through good and bad times he supports me with infallible love and
understanding. I know he will love me today, tomorrow, next month, next
year, and the rest of my life. Over this time, I hope that my father and I will
grow even closer together. For all my father does and has done, he is my
definition of unconditional love.
- 11 -
First Place Essay
Annie Drape - 12th Grade
What My Father Means to Me
“Don’t let go!” I yelled as my dad is holding onto the back of my bike,
“I’ve got you,” my dad said.
I was five years old when my dad taught me how to ride my bike. We
went to the Leawood Middle School baseball field. Through experiences I
have had growing up; I always relate it back to that simple bike ride in 1998.
Early in life, my dad was always “holding the back of my bicycle.” He
would hold my hand while crossing the street, play with me in the backyard
and put me to bed. I did not want him to stop doing those things or “let go.”
As the bike ride progressed, he would let go, but run along side of me.
More privileges and responsibilities were given to me as I kept growing up.
Although I was now able to cross the street or make it through a Disney
World parade without holding his hand and was able to stay out longer, he
was always there to catch me when I fell. I remember when I fell off my
scooter in my new house, he went to buy me band aids and told me I’d be
okay. He was there to help me when I was having a bad day or give the
family a good laugh at the dinner table.
I continued to ride around in circles at the baseball field on my bike. I
could hear my dad yell “Way to go, Anne!” My dad has always been my
support and encouragement system. He’s taught me how important faith and
family are. And he’s taught me that everything will be okay when he lets go
of the bike. I’ve learned if I fall, I can get back up again.
That simple bike ride back in 1998 taught me lifelong lessons and my
dad deserves all the credit.
- 12 -