High school students from Carson City and Douglas County have been invited by Capital City Post 4 of The American Legion to compete in the 78th Annual American Legion High School Oratorical Scholarship Program.
The contest will be held at the Western Nevada College’s Cedar Building in the Marlette Hall on Dec. 20. Students have been preparing for the past few months under the guidance of their respective English/ Speech/Debate teachers.
The winner will compete in the Department of Nevada-District 4 Oratorical contest on Jan. 10 at the Cedar Building with the winner from the Gerald C. Daniel Post 37, Fernley.
The subject in the prepared oration portion of the contest must be about some phase of the Constitution of the United States, emphasizing the duties and obligations of a citizen to the United States government.
The prepared oration must be the original effort of each contestant and must be 8-10 minutes in length; three- to five-minute speeches on an assigned topic also are part of the contest.
In addition to the awards for winners of the various elimination rounds of competition, college scholarships of $18,000, $16,000, and $14,000 will be awarded to the first through third places in the national finals. Each state winner who competes in the first round of the national contest will receive a $1,500 scholarship.
Participants in the second round who do not advance to the national final round will receive an additional $1,500 scholarship. The top three youth orators who have won all previous elimination rounds will vie for top honors in the national contest in April in Indianapolis.
The American Legion will pay the expenses of state winners at the national contest. For more information, visit www.legion.org/oratorical
