Members of the Tamaqua American Legion Post 173 named Courtney Kovatch, 13, as this year’s Tamaqua Poppy Queen. Courtney is the daughter of Joseph and Angie Kovatch of Nesquehoning. She is the granddaughter of Joseph and Florence Kovatch and Eugene and Margaret Perla.
Courtney attends 7th grade at Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic School in Lehighton. She is a member of Nesquehoning Girl Scout Troop 34096, CYD Volleyball, and 4-H in Mahoning Valley. She is also is a junior member of the Tamaqua American Legion Auxiliary.

From the American Legion Auxiliary website:
Connecting the visual image of the poppy with the sacrifice of service made by our veterans has been an important goal of the American Legion Auxiliary Poppy Program since its inception in 1921. On Memorial Day and Veterans Day, millions of red crepe paper poppies—all handmade by veterans as part of their therapeutic rehabilitation—are distributed across the country in exchange for donations that go directly to assist disabled and hospitalized veterans in our communities.
The Poppy Program raises community awareness and respect for our veterans by educating Auxiliary members and the public about the symbol of the poppy, taken from a line in the poem “In Flanders Fields” written on the battlefront during World War I by Lt. Col. John McCrae, M.D.
The purpose of the Poppy Program is to elevate community awareness and respect for our veterans by educating our membership and the public about the poppy’s significance and the financial benefit realized by our nation’s veterans as a result of its distribution.