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AARP South Dakota congratulates the 2008 AARP Grandparent of the Year Essay Contest winner, Sydney Palmer, of Pierre. Palmer is a fifth-grader at Jefferson School. Palmer received a medal, a plaque and a $500 savings bond for her winning essay on why her grandfather Lynn Petersen of Wilmar, Minnesota, should be AARP’s Grandparent of the Year.

Palmer read her essay at the annual South Dakota Retired Teacher’s Association (RTA) convention May 1, in Pierre. She spoke highly of her grandfather and his involvement in her life, and the lives of other young people in his community saying, “My wish is that every child could have a relationship with an older person like I have with my grandpa.”

Fifteen of South Dakota’s 22 RTA units participated in the contest by collecting and judging the more than 700 essays submitted statewide.

Second-place winner Donovan Kopetsky of Aberdeen received a $300 savings bond as well as a medal and plaque. Rachel Tate of Colome placed third and received a $200 savings bond, a medal and a plaque.

AARP supports the annual Grandparent Essay Contest to raise awareness of the more than 8,000 children living in grandparent-headed households. Of those children more than 5,000 are living without any parental presence in the home. AARP's commitment to this issue includes publishing a quarterly report that tracks the number of grandchildren being raised by grandparents in each state as well as providing state-specific resources to grandparents so that they may access assistance programs that may aid them.