Strauss & Troy Honors High School Students for Their Essays on War

About the Event:
The Freedom Writers Luncheon and Awards Ceremony
2007 serves as the third consecutive year for the Freedom Writers competition, an essay-writing contest held among 125 Robert A. Taft Information Technology High School students; the top 25 finalists will be acknowledged on Thursday. Five finalists will be presented with awards and one grand-prize winner will be presented with a laptop computer. The remaining students will be given a memento to commemorate the day’s events. The event originated and is annually sponsored by Strauss & Troy’s Make a Difference Team—a group of the law firm’s employees who volunteer their time to give back to the community. The Freedom Writers essay contest originated as a literacy initiative.

Essay Topic:
The Effects of War in America: This timely topic should spur a mix of interesting essays given the ongoing debate surrounding America’s troops serving in Iraq.

When:
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Noon - 1:00 p.m., luncheon with the students
1:00 p.m. - 1:45 p.m., awards presentation

Where:
Strauss & Troy
Fifth Floor Executive Dining Room
The Federal Reserve Building
(at the corner of Fourth & Main)
150 East Fourth Street, Fourth Floor
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
Parking: PNC Building on the adjacent corner; behind Walgreens at Fourth & Main

Other Events of the Day:
The top 25 finalists will depart from Taft High School by trolley and travel to the Christian Waldschmidt Homestead for an educational program about the Revolutionary War. Following the luncheon ceremony, students will tour Strauss & Troy.

Media Interviews:
Students are available for interviews throughout the day. Winning essays will be available to the media for publishing.

Media attending the event should contact Terry Heath, 513-774-0511, to make arrangements for admission to the program.