Students Commended For Oratorical Skills

From the Plant City Optimist Club:

March 4 2020

Four local students participated in the annual Plant City Optimist Club Oratorical Contest Feb. 17 in the Sadye Gibbs Martin Auditorium at City Hall. The theme of this year’s contest was “Just iMagine a World without Boundaries”. The students presented their four to five minute orations in front of an audience of over 40 people, including their family and guests as well as club members and their families. Students must be under the age of 19 as of last October 1 to qualify for the competition.

“This activity is very important to help prepare our young people for their future by developing their public speaking skills” said Optimist Club President Dave Robbins. Oratorical Contest Chairman Doris Robbins said “These students did a great job with their speeches. We are very proud of them.”

The results of the 2020 combined gender event are: 1 st Place Taryn Storter (Plant City High School) 2 nd Place Shad Stevens (Strawberry Crest High School) 3 rd Place Catherine Hamilton (Plant City High School) 4 th Place Angelina Welsh (Durant High School) Judging of the speeches was performed by three members of the Plant City Toastmasters Club.

Several criteria are considered in the judging:

 Scoring:

o Poise – appearance, personality

o Content of Speech – adherence to subject, theme, content, logic, color

o Delivery and Presentation – voice, volume, pronunciation, gestures, eye contact, sincerity, emphasis

o Overall Effectiveness – appeal, impression, attitude, effect,

 Penalties:

o Must state the official topic when starting the speech

o Quotes and copyrighted information must be identified

o No use of props or costumes (notes and lectern are ok)

o Speech must be between 4 and 5 minutes in length

o No references identifying the student, parents, school, community or sponsoring Optimist Club

The top two finishers advance from the Club level to the Zone 6 Contest in Mulberry on March 30 against the top two finishers from both the Lakeland and Winter Haven clubs. The top two from the Zone Competition advance to the North Florida District’s Southwest Regional Contest for the Tampa Bay area in Tampa on April 4.

Regional winners advance to the North Florida District Finals April 18 in Gainesville where a $2,500 college scholarship will be awarded to the District Champion, a $1,500 scholarship for 2 nd place and a $1,000 scholarship for 3rd place. The higher scoring District Champion will be eligible to attend the 5th Annual World Championships in St Louis, MO July 16-17, representing the North Florida District.

A Plant City club representative has won the North Florida District finals competition and received the college scholarship nine times since 2001:

 2001 – Jacob Rayburn

 2002 – Caycee Hampton

 2008 – Nathan Carson

 2009 – Amanda Williamson

 2011 – Mylie Feaster

 2012 – Jesse Bingham

 2015 – Emma Poole

 2016 – Caroline Brummer (also competed at the Inaugural World Championships)

 2017 – Katelyn Yarbrough (also competed at the 2nd Annual World Championships)

First conducted by Optimist International in 1928, this is longest running and second-most popular Optimist International program, with over 2,000 clubs participating each year.

Optimist International (www.optimist.org) is one of the world’s largest service club organizations with nearly 80,000 adult and youth members in over 2,500 clubs in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Mexico and throughout the world. Carrying the motto “Bringing Out the Best in Kids,” Optimists conduct over 65,000 positive service projects that reach more than six million young people each year and spending over $78 million on their communities annually.

The Optimist Club of Plant City, chartered in 1962, has been involved with local youth through the Oratorical Contest for over 45 years. Other programs and service projects the Plant City club participates in include Respect for Law Week, Youth Appreciation Week and Plant City’s Citizen of the Year selection as well as providing at least six $1,000 college scholarships for Plant City High School graduates each year. The club is also very active in its support of youth by working closely with the Plant City Recreation & Parks Department in their youth flag football, basketball and soccer programs as well as the annual Easter Egg Hunt and various sport skills competitions.

The club’s two fundraisers to support their community programs are an annual fall golf tournament and the sale of Christmas trees each year. For more information about the Optimist Club of Plant City, please contact Plant City club president Dave Robbins at president@plantcityoptimistclub.org.

This press release was produced by the Plant City Optimist Club. The views expressed here are the author’s own.