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Rotary speech contest open to high schoolers




Rotary speech contest open to high schoolers

Rotary speech contest open to high schoolers

High school students are invited to compete for cash in the Murfreesboro Rotary Club’s 4 Way Test public speaking contest at Adams Place, 1927 Memorial Boulevard. The competition begins at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 7. 

“The main goal of this contest is to develop future leaders and promote ethical behavior,” said club president Ann Minatra Clark. “Every student’s talk must be focused on Rotary’s 4-Way Test and how it applies to whatever topic the speaker chooses.” 

The principles of the 4 Way Test have been developed over the years to provide Rotarians with a strong, common purpose and direction. They serve as a foundation for the relationships of members with each other around the world.

Rotary’s 4 Way Test has grown into one of the most widely printed and quoted statements of business ethics in the world. It was adopted by Rotary in 1943 and has been translated into more than a hundred languages spoken by Rotarians around the world.

  1. 1.     Is it the TRUTH?
  2. 2.     Is it FAIR to all concerned?
  3. 3.     Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
  4. 4.     Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

Each contestant shall choose the topic of his or her speech. The purpose of the speech is to address an ethical problem using the principles of the 4-Way Test. The problem to be addressed should be something from the speaker’s personal experience or general knowledge. There are no restrictions regarding the choice of topic as long as it is not blatantly offensive.

In the speech, the topic must be specifically related to the Rotary 4 Way Test. This must be addressed during the body of the speech and not reserved for concluding statements only.

“This is open to ninth through twelfth grade students in public, private and home schools. There is no fee to participate,” said Murfreesboro Rotary Club’s Youth Director David Coggin. “Each talk must be at least 4-minutes, but no longer than 6-minutes and that Rotary’s 4 Way Test must strongly tie to the topic of your choice.

Coggin added, “Participants will be judged on: (1) content and creative quality of the material, (2) poise and confidence, (3) voice and diction, (4) body action, gesture and non-verbal communication, and (5) speech should be memorized (use of notes count down).”

Registration is simple. E-mail your name, grade level in school, phone number and e-mail to david@thebarnabasvision.org

The first-place winner receives $100 cash, second gets $75 and the third-place finisher walks away with $50.

Murfreesboro Rotary’s first place recipient will next compete at 10 a.m. Saturday May 5 for the semi-finals at the Williamson County Ag Expo Park, 4215 Long Lane in Franklin. There will be three finalists from that competition with each receiving $100. 

Those three semi-finalists compete for $1,000 at the Rotary District Conference at the Franklin Marriott Cool Springs. 

Applicants are accepted on a first-come basis. E-mail your information to david@thebarnabasvision.org. Previous first place winners are ineligible. 

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