For two area students, the U.S. Constitution means much more than a document setting forth fundamental principals of governance.

Fifth-graders Kaley LeCroy, Troy Elementary School, and David Nelson, Pike Liberal Arts, were winners of the Pike County Republican Women’s “What the Constitution Means to Me” contest.

Nelson, who won first place, will receive a $50 gift card from Troy Bank & Trust and LeCroy, who won second, will receive a $25 gift card from TB&T Both fifth-graders will be featured on TB&T’s fall billboards.

The winners were determined anonymously with judges scoring essays based on a numbering system with no prior knowledge of the writers, PCRW President Ginny Hamm said. Students were judged not on their writing style or grammar, but instead simply on what the constitution meant to them and how well they conveyed that message to the judges.

LeCroy said the United States would be in “total chaos” if the Constitution wasn’t followed. “I think it’s a set of rules and guidelines that we should follow at all times,” LeCroy said. “It’s important to every day things. The nation couldn’t run without it. It’s important because its what we live by and it would be total chaos if we didn’t.”

Nelson had a similar message to convey and said the Constitution was a set of rules everyone needed to follow.

“The Constitution just rules that everyone needs to follow,” Nelson said. “It’s important so some people don’t do the same thing as the others. Some people do one thing and someone else does the other thing and they come together.”

LeCroy and Nelson both said they had lessons on government and studied different pieces of the United State’s governmental foundation. “We did a topic on government for a while, and my teacher Mrs. Lydia Sexton she really helped us a lot,” LeCroy said. “It was interesting to learn how all the branches work together and they have all the vetoes and the checks and balances. Everything is equal.”

Nelson said his lessons in government and handouts his teachers had given him had made it easier to write his essay.

“One day our teacher gave us this booklet of the first 10 Amendments, the Bill of Rights and all that,” Nelson said. “I used that to help me with my essay and understand the Constitution. It wasn’t that hard to write. It was fun.”

LeCroy and Nelson both said they were excited to have been able to win the contest.

“I’m really happy to have been able to win,” LeCroy said. “I honestly didn’t know that I was going to win. I hope it shows that I do care and that I’m not just reading about it in textbooks. I hope the kids behind me can come back and say they were able to learn this too.”