Derryberry, Moons, Hay earn top honors in Grand Parent of the Year Essay Contest

Three Clinton County Middle School students from the fifth grade have been selected as the top entrants in this year’s “My GrandParent Should Be GrandParent of the Year” essay contest.

Christian Derryberry earned the top prize in the contest, which is sponsored locally by the Clinton County Retired Teacher’s Association.

Derryberry’s essay, about his “Pa”, Larry Derryberry, will be submitted to the Kentucky essay contest and will be judged against entrants from across the Commonwealth.

Derryberry is the son of Jeremy and Alisha Derryberry.

Clinton County’s second place winning entry was written by Moriah Moons, about her “Pa”, Gale Moons. She is the daughter of Chris and Marsha Moons.

Adam Hay earned third place among the local contestants for his essay about his “Nana Pam”, grandmother Pam Hay. He is the son of Wesley Hay and Elisha Corya.

The three winners were recognized last week during a meeting of the Clinton County Retired Teacher’s Association.

The Clinton County essay contest is coordinated by Clinton County Middle School Language Arts teacher Kim Stonecipher.

Following are the three winning essays written by Derryberry, Moons and Hay.

‘My Pa Larry is a hero’

1st place

Christian Derryberry

There’s only one grandParent that is able to be the next grandParent of the year, no the decade, no the century. That’s my Pa. His name is Larry Derryberry. He is a hard worker. Also, he’s one of the biggest Christians I know. When he’s at church he’s a statue. He’s kind of like a sponge absorbing everything the preacher says, and I’m always right there beside him! He doesn’t make it every Sunday because his wife (my Nana) has cancer, but when he does make it, it’s awesome. Now it’s time, so prop up the feet of that comfy chair and get ready for the next grandParent of the century.

My Pa Larry is a hero. I don’t mean he has super powers. I just mean he does great things, such as helping my Nana. She has lung cancer. He does everything for her, and she deserves it. She is the nicest you’ll ever meet, but just don’t act dumb and you and her will be fine. Now back to my Pa. He has made her life so much easier. For example, he makes her food, cleans her messes, and anything she says, he does. That’s why he is a true hero in my eyes.

I bet your favorite day of the year is your birthday. Not mine. My favorite day of the year is Christmas Eve with Pa. I like it because the night before Christmas we all go to my Pa’s for supper and presents. I always bless the food before we eat. I can remember one year he accidentally burnt the dressing, and I loved that dressing even more than when he didn’t burn it. After we eat, we all go in the living room and my two older brothers and my older cousins Pass out presents. Then my Pa goes and gets the big presents he hides in the closet. My favorite Part is when we give my Nana and Pa their presents. That’s why it’s my favorite day of the year.

If my Pa was put on a scale of 1-10 in how much faith in God he has, he would be an 11. I say that because he has made his whole life revolve around two things: his wife, and Jesus. It’s amazing how no matter what the situation is, he always puts God first, and makes sure God knows that he needs and appreciates him. I can only hope that I can be like him one day.

I am glad I wrote this essay because it has made me see how special my Pa is to me. I’ve put my thoughts on Paper and it really makes me happy knowing my Pa will get to hear them. Also, I’ve realized how much of an imPact he has made in my life. I really am glad I nominated my Pa for Kentucky GrandParent of the Year.

Christian Derryberry with his Pa, Larry Derryberry. Christian is the son of Jeremy and Alisha Derryberry.

‘I still love days with Pa’

2nd Place

Moriah Moons

Every time I see a little girl or boy blowing bubbles I think back to when I was little and my Pa and me would blow bubbles together. My Pa, Gale Moons, is the best Pa in the world. He’s not too tall, not too short, and has a white beard. He has lots of grandchildren, but he spends time with each and everyone of us. My Pa does so many things for me that he should be not only Kentucky GrandParent of the Year, not just America’s grandParent of the year, but my Pa should be the universe’s grandParent of the year.

I have many special memories with my Pa, but the ones I love most are the ones from when I was little and I got to spend all day with Pa. Some days we would go to the lake, so Pa could fish. Some days Pa and me would go to McDonalds and get ice cream. But the best days were the days that Pa would mow the lawn, and I could ride the lawn mower with him and pick the flowers in front of him, so he wouldn’t run them over. Then when I got tired, I could fall asleep on the lawn mower in Pa’s lap. To this day I still love days with Pa especially days when he mows the lawn.

My Pa is the hardest worker I know. He is handicapped and retired, so he is not allowed to have a job, but this doesn’t stop my Pa from finding projects to keep him busy. He adds onto and renovates his house a lot. He also spends a lot of time in the garden. He teaches me and my cousins how to shoot, and plans a lot of camping trips for me and the rest of my family. My Pa also takes care of me and my cousins through the summer, and he helps watch my younger cousins throughout the school year. My Pa may not have to wake up early every morning and go to work, but that doesn’t stop him from finding something else to do.

I love birthday Parties, but going out to eat with my Pa is much better than a Party. Every year on my birthday my Pa and Grandma take me out to eat. First we go to Ihop or Golden Corral and eat the best meal EVER! (next to Grandma’s cooking that is) Then we go to Walmart and Pa lets me pick out a present while Grandma goes shopping. Then on the way home we listen to the radio until we get to Pa’s house, and sometimes I get to spend the night there. So you can probably see why birthday Parties are nothing comPared to eating out with Pa.

I’m so happy that I wrote this essay about Pa. When I put my thoughts down on Paper it surprised me how much my Pa really means to me. If I lost him, there would be an emptiness in my heart that could NEVER be filled. If he doesn’t win the Kentucky GrandParent of the Year, that’s fine. I’ll still love him anyway and nothing will EVER change that!

See third place winner Adam Hay’s essay on page 7 of this edition.

Moriah Moons and her Pa, Gale Moons. Moriah is the daughter of Chris and Marsha Moons.

Three Clinton County Middle School students from the fifth grade have been selected as the top entrants in this year’s “My Grand Parent Should Be Grand Parent of the Year” essay contest.

Adam Hay earned third place among the local contestants for his essay about his “Nana Pam”, grandmother Pam Hay. He is the son of Wesley Hay and Elisha Corya.

The first and second place entries can be found on page 2.

‘Nana Pam – blue eyes, brown hair and a big smile’

3rd Place

Adam Hay

Every time I smell bacon I think of my Nana Pam. When I wake up at her house that’s all I smell. I go downstairs and what do I see? I see blue eyes, brown hair, and a big smile. Yep. That’s her, Pam Hay, my Nana. She is sweet, loveable, smart, and a great grandma. That’s why she should be nominated GrandParent of the Year.

My Nana has taught me so many things. I can’t name all of them. One that sticks out is when she taught me how to help her and my Papa work cattle on the farm. When we work cattle, I always ride with my Nana on the Kubota. She has taught me to watch my Papa and granddad so I know how to do it. Nana and me are a great team, and we always will be.

My Nana encourages me to do and be a lot of things. One way she has encouraged me is to do good in school. My Nana can understand how important it is to be successful in school because she was a fifth grade reading and a sixth grade science teacher. My Nana has helped me with school since day one. She has always said that I’m great in school, and I hope it is true. My Nana has encouraged me to do the best I can in school and I always will. She says to go to college when I get out of high school. All these things my Nana has encouraged me to do, I hope to do to make my Nana happy and proud.

A special holiday I celebrate with my Nana is Christmas. For Christmas my whole family goes to my Nana’s house to eat and open gifts. My Nana loves to celebrate Christmas with us grandchildren. She always decorates the Christmas tree, and it always looks beautiful with the help of my sister and my cousins plus me. My Nana always tells me the Christmas story before or on Christmas. This is why I love to celebrate Christmas with my Nana.

Now that I have put my thoughts on Paper, I see how special Nana is to me. I have noticed that Nana is a big Part in my life. I know that there’s a special place in my heart for Nana and there always will be. This is why my Nana should be nominated for the Kentucky GrandParent of the Year.