Mesquite Elks Lodge #2811 announced winners of their annual American Essay Contest Friday and presented awards at a Beaver Dam Elementary school gathering. The contest has a different theme each year with this year’s theme entitled “What Does the National Anthem Mean to Me?” The contest participants are students in two divisions, 5th and 6th graders encompassing one category and 7th and 8th graders in another. All schools in the Mesquite Lodge territory are asked to participate. These include Beaver Dam, Moapa Valley and Mesquite. Only Beaver Dam 5th graders submitted entries in 2013. Contest winner Jaycie Bloomfield won first prize and received a check for $100.00, second place winner Justlee Martin received $75.00 and third place winner Jesse Goldtooth received $50.00 from Lodge Americanism Chairman Larry Knievel.