Click here to see a list of our winners.
Click here to read the winning essay.
Congratulations to our 36 essay finalists and their fathers! More than 4,000 Hamilton County public, private and home school students submitted essays in the 2008 Father of the Year Essay Contest.
Les Compton was named the 2008 Father of the Year. Other winners included Dewayne Ison as the Father Figure of the Year, Jeff Roberts and Mark Burrows as finalists, grade level winners, schools that submitted more than 100 entries, and the school with the highest percentage of participation.
The 2008 Father of the Year essay contest was open to all students grades 1 – 12 in Hamilton County and the Southeast Tennessee area. Students were asked to write a 300 word essay describing what their father or father figure means to them using the essay subject “What My Father Means To Me.”
Mr. Compton won a 5-day, 4-night trip to Orlando/Disney, plus a Chattanooga Lookouts Baseball package including AT&T Field skybox seats to the June 22 game where he will throw out the first pitch. Mr. Compton and his family will also receive dinner on the Southern Belle and VIP Coca-Cola Hospitality Tickets at Riverbend tonight.
Mr. Ison received a plaque honoring his accomplishments as Father Figure of the Year, as well as a $250 gift certificate from Ace Hardware.
First place winners in each grade level received a $50 U.S. Savings Bond. 21st Century Academy Elementary School received a $500 gift certificate to the School Box for having the highest percentage of participation under 500. Snow Hill Elementary School also received a $500 gift certificate for having the most participants over 500. Jennifer Oliver, a fifth-grade teacher at Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences won a $250 gift certificate to the School Box in a random drawing for all teachers who submitted at least ten entries in the essay contest.
The 2008 Father of the Year Essay Contest was sponsored by First Things First, The National Center for Fathering, The Chattanooga Lookouts, The Southern Belle, and Riverbend Festival.
