The 4-H Tropicana district wide public speaking contest was held recently at the Nelson Administrative Building. This contest is the final step in a public speaking education program conducted by Bay District Schools, administered by the University of Florida/IFAS Bay County Extension 4-H Program, and underwritten by the Tropicana Corporation. Students delivered two to three minute speeches on a subject of their choice and interest.

The 4-H Tropicana Public Speaking Program began in 1969 in Manatee County, location of Tropicana’s main office. The week-long program is designed to give elementary and middle-school students (4th -6th grade) experience in the preparation and delivery of a speech. It is taught by classroom teachers and is incorporated into the established school curriculum.

Tropicana supplies each teacher with a suggested teacher lesson plan. With the guidance of their teachers, the participating students work on a speech of their choice. The course culminates in classroom competitions where the top speakers from each class are chosen to participate in a school-wide competition. Each school then competes in a county-wide contest with winners from other schools.

The results of Tropicana’s program are evident in the confidence displayed by young people in making prepared or extemporaneous presentations. The 4-H Public Speaking Program offers young people this opportunity and teaches them to be better communicators – a skill that will be beneficial throughout life.

Listed below are the district winners for the Junior Division (4th and 5th grade) and Senior Division (6th Grade):

Junior Division

1st Place - Alaina Clem- Lynn Haven Elementary School - “Stuck in the Middle”

2nd Place - Darian Davis - Breakfast Point Academy - “My Little Brother”

3rd Place - Derek Lyon - Bay Haven Charter Academy - “Technology Addictions”

4th Place - Lia Johnson – Hutchinson Beach Elementary School- “Art, Where Beauty Is in the Eye of the Beholder”

Senior Division
1st Place - Naba Zabih - Bay Haven Charter Academy - “The Power of Positive Behavior”

2nd Place - Heather Benjamin - Merritt Brown Middle School - “Looking at the Bright Side of Things”

3rd Place - Heith Swafford – Deane Bozeman School - “Possums”