Photo: Carroll County American Legion Oratorical Speech Contest first and second place winners–center left, second place, Ayak Dut–center right, first place, Kenna Soppe
COVID could not squelch an 84-year-long tradition as the Carroll County American Legion recently hosted their annual Oratorical Speech Contest at the Carroll campus of Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC). In this competition, high school students are encouraged to study the U.S. Constitution and develop a prepared oration and then they are asked to speak on a randomly assigned constitutional topic as well. Local winners include Kenna Soppe, a senior at Kuemper High School who was sponsored by the Breda American Legion. She took the top prize at the county level, earning $100, and will move on to compete at the district level at DMACC on Monday, Jan. 3 beginning at 2 p.m. Another Kuemper High student, Ayak Dut, a junior who was sponsored by the Dedham American Legion, finished second and received a $50 award. District winners will be eligible for up to $25,000 in scholarships at the national level competition, to be held in Indianapolis, Ind. April 9 through April 11 of 2021. More details on how local high schools can support this program can be found below.
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To learn more about supporting the American Legion Oratorical Contest, log on to www.letion.org/oratorical or contact Gary Schmitz:
Phone: 712-830-3072
Email: schmitzga@gmail.com
