Nicholas Welty wins Veterans Day essay contest

Canyon Lake resident Nicholas Welty, a 3rd grader at Santa Rosa Academy in Menifee, received an award for his essay on what Veterans Day means to him and was invited to read it at the Menifee Veterans Day ceremony. Menifee school students in grades 3 through 12 were eligible to participate in the contest.

Eight-year-old Nic was one of two 3rd graders chosen to read their essays at the Menifee ceremony at Wheatfield Park on Wednesday, which meant that his parents, Dale and Kellie Welty, weren’t able to make it to Canyon Lake’s Veterans Day Ceremony.

Kellie says she has attended the Canyon Lake Veterans Day Ceremony for many years and has always been impressed, but she didn’t know how it compared to what is available in other communities.

“I just want to give a great big shout out to everyone who participates in the Canyon Lake Veterans Day celebration,” she says. “Although Menifee’s was very nice, it doesn’t even begin to compare to ours. Canyon Lake and all its residents do a phenomenal job on making this event so special. Thank you!”

That being said, she’s also proud of Nicholas and her other son Adam, about whom Nic wrote. In addition to reading his essay at the ceremony, Nic received a certificate and a gift card.

Nic wrote:

“’I’m proud to have joined the Navy because I believe every American should at least serve one term for their country. I love my job because I learned a unique set of skills that challenge and inspire me on a daily basis.’ “This is a quote from my brother, Sergeant Adam McNaughton.

“My brother is one of the reasons why I am proud to honor Veterans Day. Since my brother is in the Navy, I feel proud to honor all Veterans. I really want to respect Veterans like they are in my family. I want to treat them like family because they fight like family.

“They do what they can to save us. I love when people have peace because they sacrifice much for us. I also like when we have peace because we don’t have war. Like my brother, I am inspired to serve our country.”

Adam made a special appearance in Nic’s class this past Monday to talk about his military service and answer questions from the 3rd graders.