Marcellus senior Tanner Bohan was honored as the Capt. Samuel Felt Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution’s 2017 Good Citizen at its regular monthly meeting at the Cass District Library Monday.

The DAR also awarded its annual Community Service Award to Dowagiac’s Charles Timmons of the Dowagiac Area History Museum and its Conservation Award to Karen Nelson of Nelson’s Herbs in Edwardsburg.

Bohan was one of seven area students named DAR Good Citizens at the March meeting. The good citizens are usually named in December, but weather forced the meeting to be cancelled.

Named DAR Good Citizens last month were Lauren Smith, Dowagiac Union High School; Mary Wright, Cassopolis High School; Michaela Ritschard, Edwardsburg High School; and Samuel Burge, Brandywine High School.

After being selected by Marcellus High School, Bohan had to provide a transcript of his grades from high school, two letters of recommendation, a detailed list of high school activities, volunteer service and extracurricular activities.

He also had to write an original essay of no more than 500 words on the topic “Our American heritage and our responsibilities for preserving it.”

Bohan has participated in track, cross country and golf at Marcellus High School, along with National Honor Society and several other clubs.

He is undecided on where he will attend college next fall.

 

Essay

Our American Heritage and Our Responsibility for preserving it.

Focus Question: How do the combined actions of many good citizens keep our nation moving forward?

 

Good citizens are one of the most important resources our country has to offer. A good citizen can be described many ways. It can refer to someone who does their civic duties like voting or serving on a jury. Although, I have another definition for a good citizen, a good citizen is someone who stands up for what is right and leads others in the correct direction. A good citizen is a leader who encourages and helps everyone biasedly. A good citizen is a good leader. So, how do good citizens keep our nation moving forward?

Good citizens are the most important resource you can find in the United States because they are the citizens who will stand up for what is right. These citizens are the ones who will go out into the world and try their hardest to stop the injustices they see around them. These citizens are the Martin Luther King Juniors. Good citizens are the citizens you see leading movements for civil rights. We see good citizens everyday like members of the American Red Cross who are usually the first to aid the population in times of crises. Good citizens fuel not just our country’s activists but, the world’s activists.

Good citizens are also those who follow their civic duty. These are the citizens who would rather be silent leaders. These are the people who vote at every election to make sure that the right leaders are in charge of this country. These are the people who make sure that their friends vote so that bad leaders don’t get put in power. These people are the ones who use the rights that we won in the American Revolution and that our army has fought to protect.

These are the Americans who understand that when we don’t use our right to vote or we don’t serve on a jury that we will lose those rights. These people know just how important the right to vote and the right to a jury of our peers is. These people drive our country forward civically.

Then there is the most important thing good citizen do; they keep our nation moving forward in the darkest times. These good citizens are the leaders who work for the better good of everyone. These are the George Washingtons, the Abraham Lincolns, and the Franklin Roosevelts of our nation. They are the people who guide us out of dark times, those who guide us out of “civil wars” and make “new deals” for the nation.

The leaders are the ones who realize they are more than just Republicans or Democrats, they are Americans. They are the citizens that insight hope and knowledge rather than fear and division. Good citizens drive the country to do the best we can; they are the ones who make the decisions to have everyone excel.

How do good citizens keep this country moving forward? I think the better question is what don’t good citizens do to help the country. The combined actions of the good citizens give us leaders, people who do their civic duties, and those who stand up in large numbers for what is right. They are the driving force behind every movement and every aid organization in this nation. So ask yourself, are you a good citizen?