COLUSA, CA (MPG) — Colusa Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2441 hosted its annual Christmas dinner Saturday, Dec. 6, at Veterans Hall and used the evening to honor a local advocate, recognize a longtime officer and present three $500 awards.
Post Quartermaster Duane Nokes said the post wanted to start by recognizing a community member who turned concern over veteran suicide into action.
“We want to recognize a very special community member who has made, in her vision, to bring about community awareness to veteran suicide,” Nokes said, noting that an estimated 22 veterans die by suicide every day.
He said Lauren Kraft organized a 22-mile “Ruck for Vets” from Colusa to Meridian and back to raise money and awareness.
“This not only brings about awareness, but she also responds to support our VFW,” Nokes said. “This year, she raised $3,720.”
The post presented Kraft with a special clock in appreciation of her efforts.
Nokes then turned to recognize one of the post’s own. He said former Quartermaster Chaz Franklin served from 2014 to 2025 in what he called “arguably the toughest position in the post.”
“I do believe he enjoyed a few of the battles between post and state,” Nokes said.
Post Commander Sands Forney thanked Franklin for his long service and attention to detail.
“I just want to say thank you, Chaz, for all your dedicated years and service to this organization. It’s not an easy job,” Forney said. “We get inspected every year and he’s always been a thorn in my side, but this year we did wonderful. Thank you.”
The post also marked a new milestone in its youth and education programs.
“Now, for the first time ever, we had applicants and winners for the Patriot’s Pen, Voice of Democracy and Teacher of the Year,” Nokes said, adding that Colusa VFW sponsored $500 cash awards for each winner.
Patriot’s Pen is a youth essay contest open to students in grades 6 through 8. Essays run 300 to 400 words and this year shared the theme, “How are you showing patriotism and support for our country?”
This year’s Patriot’s Pen winner, Maxwell student Allie Dennis, read from her essay, where she described celebrating holidays such as the Fourth of July and Memorial Day with friends and family to honor fallen, retired and injured service members.
“I believe it’s little holidays like that that show every day in America how supporting we can be,” Dennis read. She said she shows her patriotism by attending local ceremonies, taking part in flag retirement events, raising the flag at home and helping place wreaths on veterans’ graves with Wreaths Across America.
Dennis received a $500 award.
The Voice of Democracy award, open to students in grades 9 through 12, asks students to write and record an audio essay on the same patriotic theme. This year’s winner is Colusa High School senior Caeden Agnew.
Agnew opened her essay with a definition of patriotism as “love for or devotion to one’s country” and said the clearest example appears in those who lay down their lives for the nation. She quoted George Washington on the duty every citizen owes to a free government and said that duty can take many forms.
“A teacher can be a patriot, a mechanic can be a patriot and a 17-year-old high school senior could be a patriot as well,” Agnew wrote.
She described setting up flags for her school’s Sept. 11 memorial ceremony, taking part in Veterans Day and Independence Day events, attending political conventions and rallies, and preparing to vote as ways she shows her own patriotism. She also stressed the importance of knowing American history, from the Declaration of Independence through major wars and conflicts, and honoring the 1.4 million Americans who died in service.
“It was for those who shook off tyranny, for the slaves whose shackles were left in the past, and it is for all those who seek a better future today in this country,” Agnew wrote.
“That is why I will wave an American flag. That is why I will sing a patriotic song, and that is why it is important for all of us to do our part as citizens and patriots.”
Agnew received a $500 award.
To close the scholarship presentations, Nokes introduced the Teacher of the Year, Colusa High School instructor Chloe Ferraiuolo.
Nokes said Ferraiuolo graduated with honors from the University of California, Santa Barbara, began teaching in 2023 and advises the school’s Future Business Leaders of America chapter.
“Without teachers like her, we would not have students like Allie and Caeden,” Nokes said, before announcing Ferraiuolo as this year’s Teacher of the Year and recipient of a $500 award.
Ferraiuolo said she felt honored to stand alongside her students.
“It was kind of hard to follow Allie and Caeden, but they both did wonderful jobs,” she told the crowd.
She thanked the community members who wrote letters of support and the veterans and supporters in the room who helped shape her as a student and now as a teacher.
“Honestly, it’s the work that you did,” she said. “That’s the reason we get to have their freedom of speech and education in the first place. And so we owe it all to you.”
Nokes said the local awards also open the door to larger opportunities.
“Now that they’ve all been awarded locally, they actually go up to the state level,” he said. “If they win at the state level, they’ll go to the national level, which includes, especially for the younger ones, major scholarships and a paid trip to Washington, D.C.”.