Winners of VFW Publication Contest Announced

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - VFW has announced the winners of the 2026 National Publications Contest. Like previous years, to encourage further participation, this year's contest included the categories of Best Magazine and Best Feature Story.

Two non-VFW affiliated journalism professionals served as judges for the competition. This is designed to guarantee impartiality and objectivity in judging. One of the judges commented that this year saw some of the best submissions for the VFW Publication Contest, particularly in the category for Best Feature Story.

The winning publications in each category are:

Best Magazine

Grand Award:
The California Veteran
Skip Miller, Editor

Silver Award:
Texas VFW
Kayla Caruso, Editor

Bronze Award:
Department of South Carolina Sentinel
Bill LaMonte, Editor

Best Feature Article

Grand Award:
"Renewed Purpose: Veteran Finds Community in the VFW"
Macee Swafford, The Sentinel-Echo

Silver Award:
"Remembering Lt. John Marshall Runkle, Who Gave All for Country"
Zoltan Krompecher, The Plain Dealer

Bronze Award:
"HLWW Honors Those Who Have Served with Annual Veterans Day Program"
Austen Neaton, Herald Journal

Department Publications

Large Frequency (printed 5+ times per year)

Grand Award:
Wisconsin VFW News
Marla J. Morgan, Editor

Small Frequency (printed 1-4 times per year)

Grand Award:
Illinois VFW News
Barbara Wilson, Editor

Silver Award:
New York State Overseas Veteran
Jody Treadway, Editor

District/Post Publications

Large Frequency (printed 5+ times per year)

Grand Award:
VFW Post 1503 Newsletter
Mike Beach & Ben Guinan, Editors

Silver Award:
VFW Post 2894 Newsletter
Dan Eaker, Editor

Small Frequency (printed 1-4 times per year)

Grand Award:
VFW Post 2016 News
Ski Iworsky, Editor

Silver Award:
VFW Post 1318 News
Gundel Metz, Editor

Bronze Award:
VFW Post 4495 Quarterly
Mary Koches, Editor