Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
The competition was tough as 16 contestants, 16 years old or under, participated in the Optimists' Kids Speak Out oratorical contest Friday at Zimmer headquarters, Warsaw.
Winners in the boys' and girls' divisions will compete in the zone contest for the chance to go to the district contest. Additionally, the top three overall winners were recognized and received iPod mp3 players: Kathryn Phillips, first place; Brody Reinholt, second place; and Alek Jansen, third place.
Participants spoke for four to five minutes on the topic "My future is bright because... " Contestants were judged on the following items as outlined in the Optimist official oratorical contest rules: poise, content of speech, delivery and presentation and overall effectiveness. In addition to the scoring by the three non-Optimist judges, a timekeeper could apply penalties for going over or under official time limits and failing to announce the topic at the beginning of the speech. The timekeeper also compared the speech to a written copy to ensure that the speech was completed and non-original material was verbally identified.
In the girls' division, winners were: first - Kathryn Phillips, 12, daughter of Robert and Joan Phillips and a sixth-grader at Lincoln Elementary School; second - Natalie Wilson, 10, daughter of David and Nancy Wilson, a fourth-grader at Jefferson School; and third - Emily Breeden, 15, daughter of Steve and Deena Breeden, a WCHS freshman.
Winners in the boys' division were: first - Brody Reinholt, 13, son of Brent and Tracy Reinholt, seventh grade, Lakeview Middle School; second - Alek Jansen, 11, son of Dr. Dean and Carol Lynn Jansen, fifth grade, Lincoln Elementary; and third - Kyle Quick, 13, son of Jill Landrigan and Sean Quick, seventh grade, Edgewood Middle School.
Other participants in the boys' division were: Jesse Grantz, Graham Miles, Zack Rooker and Scott Smyth. Other girls participating were: Brittney Grimm, Erica Hastings, Myra Hooks, Abigail Schue, Brittney Skibowski and Courtney Stetzel.
