Forty-eight enthusiastic 4-H members competed in the 2017 Sussex County 4-H Public Speaking Contest on Saturday, January 21 at the Elbert N. and Ann V. Carvel Research & Education Center. Speech topics included animals, vacation and personal experiences, 4-H projects, leadership, and role models. Twelve energetic Cloverbuds (ages 5-7) also participated in the event this year! After a record sign up, the rooms had to be split and were filled to capacity. It was a fun, informative evening! After the 48 fantastic speeches, the audience and participants enjoyed refreshments while judges reviewed scores and selected awards for the participants. A special thank you to 4-H Leaders, Tammy LeCates and Angel Magee for serving as co-chairs of this event!
Top Award Winners included:
Beginner I (8-9 year old) Division: Kate Cunningham, Harbor Lights, ”Books or Movies?”
Beginner II Division (10-11 year old): Anna Lopez, Hollymount, “First Pets”
Junior Divison (12-13 year old): Zoe Probert, Sunset Branch, “Outward Bound”
Senior Division (14-19 year old): Jill Koski, Seaford Blue Jays, “One Step at a Time”
Other ribbon winners were:
Cloverbuds – Juliette Anger, Lillie Bradley, Nora Cooper, Claire Denham, Addison Freebery, Logan Jackson, Aydin Jones, Liam Probert, Ava Ruscavage, Waylon Warner and Nicholas Warren
Beginner I (8-9 year old) – James Blair, Carley Croll, Francesca Joella, Christopher Lenhart, Kieran Probert, Jake Shultie, Janet Shultie and Benjamin Warren
Beginner II (10-11 year old) – Thomas Blair, Carter Bradley, Dakota Carmona, Katie Kuhlman, Murphy McCarroll, Aiden Ruscavage and Wyatt Warner
Junior (12-13 year old) – Diamond Carmona, Alexia Carroll, Zoe Cunningham, Gianna Joella, Sundene Lodge and Ben Ockels
Senior (14-19 year old) – Jenna Anger, Meredith Carey, Destiny Carmona, Rebecca Lenhart, Hannah Littleton, Trey Lodge, Thomas McCabe, Gabriella Morra, Matthew Rieley and Junior Rodriguez
Contest Judges included: Holly Anderson, Sylvia Bradley, Jim Brown, Marlene Brown, LueAnn DeCastro, Pam Eskridge, Donna Mowbray, Dan Tabler, and Shannon Wright
Emcees: Colleen Anderson and Shawn Mitchell
Time Keepers: Jenna Anger, Meredith Carey, Destiny Carmona, Rebecca Lenhart, Samantha Messick, Taylor Messick and Gabriella Morra
Event Photographers: Jackie & Rebecca Arpie
Photos from this event can be found on the Delaware 4-H Flickr page.