Printer Friendly Version - Rotary Clubs Hold Speech Contest

Valley Regional High School students (from left) Maggie Dipierdomenico, Gabrielle Pitruzzello, Lindsey Madden, Katherine Morrissey, Maeve Collins, and Jenna LoMonaco competed in the Rotary clubs of Chester, Deep River, and Essex Four-Way Test Speech Contest. Photo courtesy of the Rotary clubs of Chester, Deep River, and Essex

The Rotary clubs of Chester, Deep River, and Essex sponsored their first Four-Way Test Speech Contest at the Deep River Richard H. Smith Town Hall. Six Valley Regional High School (VRHS) students competed both for monetary prizes and the opportunity to advance to the semi-final and district final rounds.

The students spoke before a panel of seven judges and crowd of about 60. The challenge was to analyze the ethics of a topic using the Rotary Four-Way Test: 1) Is it the truth? 2) Is it fair to all concerned? 3) Will it build goodwill and better friendships? 4) Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

Students were judged by a panel of seven community leaders, which included Chester First Selectman Lauren Gister, Deep River First Selectman Angus MacDonald, Essex First Selectman Norm Needleman, Chester Rotarian John Ivimey, Deep River Rotarian Reverend Tim Hout, Essex Rotarian Tim Tobin, and Rotary Assistant Governor Tari Marshall-Day.

The winning speaker was Maeve Collins, a Valley Regional High School (VRHS) sophomore from Essex, who spoke about the ethics of the GLOMAR response of “I can neither confirm, nor deny” and what it means to our freedom of information. As the winner Collins received a $150 honorarium and will continue on to the Rotary District 7980 (southern Connecticut) semi-final competition in Trumbull on Saturday, March 24, and possibly the District final competition in Meriden on Saturday, April 7.

Honorable mention awards of $50 were given to Gabrielle Pitruzzello, a VRHS sophomore from Chester, who used the Flat Earth Society to speak about fake news, and to Lindsey Madden, a sophomore from Deep River, who spoke about the unfairness of using mental illness as a scapegoat to blame for school shootings.

The judges spoke about their difficulty choosing winners as all speakers were passionate. Other contestants included sophomore Jenna LoMonaco of Chester, who spoke on the inadequate response to school shootings; sophomore Maggie Dipierdomenico of Essex, who spoke on the O.J. Simpson trial, and freshman Katherine Morrissey of Deep River, who spoke on the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

Regional District 4 teacher Bobbi Nidzgorski, who coaches VRHS debate team, helped prepare the students for the contest.