NASHVILLE, Tenn. (April 4, 2011) -- Ashlee Smith, 17, a junior at Lyon County High School, Ky., and daughter of Troy Smith an Electrician with the U.S. Army of Engineers from the Lake Barkley Power Plant, won $5,000 and captured top honors representing the Mid-South region at the Bill of Rights Institute's Being an American Essay Contest Awards Gala Celebration on March 22, 2011 in Washington, D.C.