The North Central Regional Planning Commission sponsors the Rural Voices Youth Contest each year to engage the youth of North Central Kansas in thoughtful reflection on rural Kansas and to promote a discussion among citizens based on their insights. More than $30,000 has been awarded to high school seniors from the region since the contest began in 2006.
2024-2025 Theme: “Rural Kansas…My Hometown”
The NCRPC invites high school seniors in North Central Kansas (NCRPC 12-county primary service area) to prepare an original essay or video based on the theme of “Rural Kansas…My Hometown.”
Written entries must be a minimum of 1,000 words and videos should be between 3-5 minutes. See additional details under How to Enter and Official Rules below.
Entries should address the following: Consider the community you call home in North Central Kansas and the people, places, or things that exist there. What about your hometown makes you proud? What sets it apart and makes it unique? What message would you tell someone who does not know about the area and how would you share that message?
Awards
Students who submit the top two entries will each receive a $1,000 cash award and will be honored with the John R. Cyr Rural Voices Award. This award is named in tribute to John R. Cyr, who served as the Executive Director of NCRPC for 22 years. Winning entries will also be published on the NCRPC website.
Registration Form
A registration form is to be completed and returned by the contest deadline (February 3, 2025). Once the form is downloaded, it is a fillable pdf. Please note that a signature is required on the registration form. You may either scan and email the completed form with signature or print and mail. See instructions on the form.
Please note that you will receive a confirmation email within 24 hours of submitting a registration form or entry. If you do not receive an email within that time frame, please contact Lori Thielen by email at communications@ncrpc.org to verify receipt.
Registration Form(PDF, 163 KB)How to Enter and Official Rules
Written Entries
- Entry should reflect the theme of the contest. Please refer to the theme description and the reflection questions provided above.
- Entry must be a minimum of 1,000 words. This can be either fiction or non-fiction. Entries that do not meet the minimum word count will not be considered. Note that the title and any works cited pages (if applicable) do not count toward the word total.
- Entry should be double-spaced, using 12-point font and one-inch margins.
- Entry must be the student’s original work.
- Written entries should be saved as a PDF file and submitted electronically to ruralvoices@ncrpc.org. Your name should not appear on the entry itself, but it should be included in the filename of the document (for example, firstnamelastnameruralvoices.pdf).
- Complete and submit the contest registration form by the deadline.
Video Entries
- Entry should reflect the theme of the contest. Please refer to the theme description and the reflection questions provided above.
- Video should be a minimum of three (3) minutes and must not exceed five (5) minutes in length.
- All work submitted must be original to the student entering the contest. This includes any photos incorporated into the video. If you choose to use music, ensure that it is not copyrighted and that you have written permission for any copyrighted music.
- Video entries should be uploaded to YouTube or Vimeo. Once uploaded, please send the link to ruralvoices@ncrpc.org.
- Complete and submit the contest registration form by the deadline.
Official Rules
Contest Entry Deadline – February 3, 2025
All entries and contest registration forms must be received electronically no later than 11:59 p.m. on February 3, 2025.*
*We suggest keeping a copy of the sent email so there is proof of a date mark prior to the deadline in case technical difficulties arise. Late entries without such proof will not be considered.
Eligibility Criteria
The contest allows one entry per person.
Eligible: The contest is open to any senior in high school who lives in and/or attends a public or private high school whose district falls within the 12-county NCPRC service area* — including the counties of Clay, Cloud, Dickinson, Ellsworth, Jewell, Lincoln, Marshall, Mitchell, Ottawa, Republic, Saline and Washington. Home school students in this same area may also enter.
*A student is eligible to enter if any portion of their school district’s official boundaries falls within the 12-county NCRPC service area.
Not Eligible: NCRPC employees and their immediate family members may not participate.
The Rural Voices Contest is sponsored by the North Central Regional Planning Commission (NCRPC). The NCRPC is committed to advancing rural Kansas through comprehensive planning and development services. Its primary service area includes 12 counties and 83 cities in North Central Kansas.
For questions about the contest, email communications@ncrpc.org or call 785-738-2218.
The NCRPC reserves the right to make no awards or partial awards based on the quality of the entries received.
