Rotary supports good speech; Chester holds contest
By Gregg Scott
Staff Writer
Each year Rotary Clubs all over the world host local speech contests that are open to students in grades 9-12. There are a myriad of good reasons to do this, but a couple that seem to rise to the top of the list are encouraging good communication skills and creating good ideas through critical thinking. The Rotary Club of Chester, which is part of Rotary District 5190 held their contest on Wednesday, March 1. The St. Andrews Academy hosted the event in their school facility as they have for several years.
The speech topic this year is “How have you Imagined Working Together to better the lives of others, and how did you implement your idea?” Each student’s speech is rated on a judging sheet that includes Content (Adhering to the topic theme), Organization (Introduction, Development and Conclusion) and Delivery (Vocal Projection, expressiveness and variety). As with all speeches the judges are looking for focus, ease of understanding, structure and an engaging message. Each student must also stay within a 5 to 7-minute time restraint or points are deducted.
The Chester contest resulted in St. Andrew’s Academy student Elizabeth Foos being selected to represent Chester Rotary ay the Area 1 contest that will be held in Susanville on March 29. By winning the Chester event Miss Foos received a check for $100. The winner of the Area 1 contest will win $150 and then represent the Area at the District contest on April 29 in Lake Tahoe, NV. The winner of that contest will be awarded $1000.
