Portola Rotary holds annual speech and music competition

Portola area students competed on Tuesday, Feb. 15 at the Rotary Club of Portola’s annual speech and music competition. Held at the Rotary Club House at noon, this year’s theme was “Share with us a time that you have served others and how were lives impacted, including your own.”

Students spoke about a variety of topics, from watching the community come together during the Dixie Fire, to volunteering in the schools with local youth. Sophia Dutton placed first and Amirra Evans placed second in the speech portion of the competition.

Nate VanKol earned a first place in the music competition for a piece played by memory on his guitar. Nate is a largely self-taught musician, using down time during covid these last few years to learn a new skill.

Students earned cash awards, and the winners will advance to the next round of competition. All students, pictured with Club President Kim Wilbanks, are seniors at Portola High School.