Twelve Hamilton School District students participated in this year’s Optimist Club of Sussex, Lisbon, Lannon and Butler Oratorical Contest. The three top finishers were:
- Junior Summer Callister – gold medal and $250 scholarship check
- Junior Alexander Ghere – silver medal and $150 check
- Eighth grader Sanjay Balaji – bronze medal and $100 check
This year’s topic was “The Moment I Realized I Belonged – My Definition of Community.” Callister and Ghere advanced to the next level of competition.
The 4- to 5-minute speech contest is designed for youth to gain experience in public speaking, perfect self-expression, gain self-assurance, improve communication skills and provide them with the opportunity to compete for a college scholarship.
Optimist International is one of the world’s largest service club organizations with approximately 80,000 adult and youth members in 2,500 clubs throughout the world. Since its start in 1928, the Optimist Oratorical Contest has become the longest-running program sponsored by Optimist International.