Mar 25, 2022
SHEPHERDSTOWN ROTARY SPONSORS HIGH SCHOOL SPEECH CONTEST
The Rotary Club of Shepherdstown has named William Stacpoole as the winner of its 2022 Four-Way Speech Contest.
The contest was held March 22 at Shepherdstown's Bavarian Inn.
Stacpoole is a freshman member of Jefferson County High School's Air Force Junior ROTC and homeschooled academically.
Aimed at encouraging high ethical standards among young people, the contest is an annual competition that invites area high school students to present original speeches that analyze a topic of their choosing from the perspective of Rotary's core principles. Those principles subject every action to the following four-question test: Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
The topic of Stacpoole's speech was Horatius, a legendary Roman army officer who defended a bridge against an invading army in the 6th Century BC.
The contest's second-place winner was Alma Cedillo, a junior at Jefferson High and Vice President of that school's Rotary-sponsored Interact Club. Her speech was focused on the local and national impacts of teacher shortages.
The third-place winner was Lillian Riner, a Jefferson High freshman who is also a member of the Air Force Junior ROTC. Her speech was about commitment.
The accompanying photo shows, from left to right: Cedillo, Jefferson High School Principal Mary Beth Group, Stacpoole, Shepherdstown Rotarians Cara Keys and John Loeffler, and Riner.
Stacpoole received a $100 prize and earned the right to compete in a Rotary Regional Four-Way Speech Contest in Hancock, MD, on April 9. If he is successful there, he will move on to a final, Rotary District Contest in May. The grand prize for that competition will be $1,000.
Cedillo and Riner received prizes of $50 and $25, respectively.