Students from the elementary to high school level competed in the annual DeKalb County 4-H Public Speaking Contest Monday night at Northside Elementary School.
First place winners in the competition are as follows:
Wyatt Martin, a fourth grade student from DeKalb West School
Ashli Chew, a fifth grader from Northside Elementary School
Lydia Trail, a sixth grade student from DeKalb West School
Cassie Cain, a seventh grader from DeKalb West School
Erin Cantrell Pryor, an eighth grade student at DeKalb West School
Elizabeth Sanders, a ninth grader at DCHS
Luke Willoughby, a twelfth grade student at DeKalb County High School
Runners-up in the contest included:
Kyra Trapp, a fifth grader who received second place
Brooke Reffue, a sixth grade student who was awarded second place
Katlyn Cox, a fourth grader who received third place
Jeremy Wagner, a fourth grade student who was awarded second place.
County Extension Agent Ron Rogers says the winners in this contest will advance to the next levels of competition. “In grades four through eight, they will go to the sub-regional contest and compete against students from eight other counties at Livingston. The competition ends there. Our winners in grades nine through twelve will represent us in the state public speaking contest at Murfreesboro during 4-H Congress in late March.”
Rogers says public speaking is not required for students in 4-H but it is strongly encouraged. “Many of the teachers promote it heavily because public speaking is a life skill. It’s something students will make use of all their lives no matter where they work or what they do. We think it’s a great thing to learn. It gets them over their fear of crowds and being in front of people. We really work at it hard and the teachers work with us. We really think it’s a very important project.”
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