The Brighton Optimist Club (Brighton Michigan, Livingston County) conducted it's 32nd annual Oratorical Contest on Sunday March 21st, at Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Brighton. Contestants from both the Brighton and Howell School systems competed by presenting four minute speeches on the topic, "Cyber Communication - Progress or Problem."
Moderators Kate Lawrence and Kelly Thompson did a great job, and we want to thank our judges - Carol McMacken, Kathryn Hall, Rick Smith, CJ Teahan, Sue Burkhart, Austin Szelkowski, Tom Harris and Sheri Richards.
Oratorical Committee Chairperson Eunice Kallio presented the awards as follows:
Girls contestants Kate Yuhas, Lorryn Cruz, Rachel Wehrly, Rylie Haupt, Samantha Myers, Kristin Walker, and Tegan Chesney received Certificates of Participation. The 3rd place winner was Rebeckah Iafrate, 2nd place Loren Bendzinski, and 1st place winner Pauline Devlin.
Boys contestants were Mo Charawi, Jimmy Birney, Jeffrey Walker, Matt Pierce, Jacob Trisch, Jack Kosaian, and Beau Godwin. 3rd place boys winner was Andrew Tucker, 2nd palce was Keith Hutchins, and the 1st place wiiner was Harrison Jones.
The first through third place winners received gift cards and medallions. The first place winners will now progress to the Michigan District Region 3 competition on Saturday, April 17th at the Southfield Public Library. Regional winners then progress to the Michigan District Competition, where the students can win a $2,500 college scholarship.
Oratorical Contests are one on Optimist International's hallmark programs for youth, introducing them to public speaking and proper methods of verbal communication. We appreciate the educators that take time to work with their students and help them to prepare their speeches.
The Brighton Optimist Club is one of 3,100 clubs worldwide that conduct 65,000 service projects every year. For more information on the Brighton Optimist Club, see http://www.brightonoptimist.org/, email info@BrightonOptimist.org, or visit them any Thursday morning, 7:30 am, at the Bauery Restuarant at Mt. Brighton, 4141 Bauer Rd, 48116. First-time visitors and guests receive a complimentary breakfast.
Showing posts with label Michigan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michigan. Show all posts
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Brighton Optimists Meet Reaching Higher Graduates
At this morning's meeting of the Brighton Optimist Club, Reaching Higher Director Sue Dahlman, and Brighton High School guidance counselor Barb Williams accompanied five of the Reaching Higher Program's recent graduates. The five students are all either sophomores or juniors this year, and each gave a brief presentation on how the Reaching Higher program has helped them personally and academically.
It was very moving to hear the stories from these young people, and to know that when we go off track in life, there is hope. Sometimes it's in our attitudes, sometimes in our circumstances. These five great students have turned themselves around, improved their grades, and are now getting more involved in activities in a positive way.
My kudos to Sue Dahlmann and Barb Williams for getting this program up and running here in Livingston County. And of course, to the Brighton Optimist Club for providing the first batch of 'seed money' to fund them. (Disclaimer:I am on the Board of Directors of the Brighton Optimist Club and am decidely biased.)
Some of these five have volunteered to be graduate assistants to the next group of Reaching Higher students at Brighton High, and my bet is that they'll be more fulfilled in that role than they were as students. Isn't it almost always the case that the more we do for others, the more meaning we find in our lives, and in life in general? I think it is.
If you want to learn more about this program, or help fund it, please see their web site at:
http://www.reachinghigherinc.org/.
If you have interest in the Brighton Optimist Club, see their web site at http://www.brightonoptimist.org/. We have an ambitious schedule of events for the year and can always use more service-minded individuals to help.
And congratulations again to the recent graduates of Reaching Higher!
It was very moving to hear the stories from these young people, and to know that when we go off track in life, there is hope. Sometimes it's in our attitudes, sometimes in our circumstances. These five great students have turned themselves around, improved their grades, and are now getting more involved in activities in a positive way.
My kudos to Sue Dahlmann and Barb Williams for getting this program up and running here in Livingston County. And of course, to the Brighton Optimist Club for providing the first batch of 'seed money' to fund them. (Disclaimer:I am on the Board of Directors of the Brighton Optimist Club and am decidely biased.)
Some of these five have volunteered to be graduate assistants to the next group of Reaching Higher students at Brighton High, and my bet is that they'll be more fulfilled in that role than they were as students. Isn't it almost always the case that the more we do for others, the more meaning we find in our lives, and in life in general? I think it is.
If you want to learn more about this program, or help fund it, please see their web site at:
http://www.reachinghigherinc.org/.
If you have interest in the Brighton Optimist Club, see their web site at http://www.brightonoptimist.org/. We have an ambitious schedule of events for the year and can always use more service-minded individuals to help.
And congratulations again to the recent graduates of Reaching Higher!
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