By LAUREN STOHLMANN
and ASHLEY FENNING
Extension Asst 4-H
Fifty-seven senior-age youth and ninety-seven intermediate-age youth from 46 counties participated in the Nebraska 4-H State Public Speaking Contest on Friday, June 24 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln East Campus Union. Youth participated in one or more of the following contests: Speech, Public Service Announcement (PSA), or Impromptu Speech. The contest had 185 entries between the three contests.
To compete in the 4-H Public Speaking Contest, youth write a speech or record a PSA that incorporates the topic of 4-H. Youth must qualify at their county public speaking contest to compete at the state level.
PSAs are recorded and submitted electronically as an audio file. PSAs must promote 4-H and be general enough to be used anywhere in Nebraska at any time of the year. They are a max of 60 seconds and include a 10 second tagline at the end encouraging listeners to learn more about Nebraska 4-H. This year’s theme was Opportunity 4 All. Intermediate and senior PSAs were judged in preliminary rounds, and, if they advanced, a final round. Seventy-seven youth competed in the PSA contest.
Prepared speeches must be original and include 4-H as the major component of the speech. Visual aids and props are not allowed. Time limits are 3-5 minutes for intermediates and 5 – 8 minutes for seniors. Box Butte County had two public speaking representatives in the Intermediate Division, Ayla Foster and Eden Foster. Speeches were presented the day of the contest and participants competed in heats. The senior division had preliminary rounds and a finals round. Intermediate division had preliminary rounds, semi-final rounds, and a final round. Seventy-nine youth competed in the prepared speech contest. The 1st – 5th place seniors earned a medal, and the 1st – 6th place intermediates earned a medal. Competing at the state public speaking event for the first time Ayla Foster received a blue ribbon and Eden Foster received a purple ribbon in their respective heats.
The impromptu speech contest was debuted for the first time this year. On the day of the contest, participants randomly selected a topic, wrote a speech in 15 minutes or less, and then delivered their speech to judges and audience members. Twenty-nine youth participated in the impromptu speech contest. The first through fifth place seniors and intermediates earned an award.
Another contest added this year was the Video Communication Contest. Youth create 60 – 90 second multi-media piece about their 4-H Story. They are encouraged to use sound effects, public domain music, and graphics.
The top five seniors in prepared speech and PSA received $250 scholarships to the College of Agriculture Sciences and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln that they can use if they choose to attend CASNR.