BONNYVILLE – The speaking and presentation skills of Bonnyville's 4-H members were put to the test at Ardmore School on Feb. 26 during the district level 4-H Public Speaking event.
In the Junior Speeches category, Katie Thompson from the Beaver River Beef Club took first place with her speech titled “My Papa.”
Norah Benoit from Ardmore Beef Club earned the top spot in the Junior Speeches category with her essay “3 Day Eventing.”
The winner of the Senior Speeches went to Hailey Lobe from the Beaver River Beef Club. Lobe’s winning speech was called “Testing Change.”
When it came to presentations, Alyssa Davediuk and Brooke Drapaka from the Ardmore Beef Club would finish in first place. The pair gave a presentation called “Busy Bees.”
In the Intermediate presentation category, Shelby Dutertre’s presentation “Big Apple Landmarks” earned her first place. Dutertre was representing her club the Lakeland Long Riders.
Melody Brundige and Arielle Thiessen from Beaver River Beef Club teamed up to present “Calving 101.” The presentation earned the pair first place in the Junior Presentations Category.
Winners from both the speech and presentation categories will move on to compete at regionals, which is set for March 26 in Wainwright. Senior speakers that place at the regional competition will then carry on to the provincial event.
In total, 18 people from the community volunteered their time to judge the speeches and presentations of 4-H members from the Bonnyville area.
MD of Bonnyville Reeve Barry Kalinski was one of the event judges and during his council report given at the Feb. 28 regular council meeting, he gave special acknowledgment to the youth who participated in the public speaking competition.
“There were two Cleavers... just young little guys and they both wanted to do impromptu speeches. I thought both of them did very well,” noted Kalinski. “I just want to thank the club for making it such a good afternoon and I want to thank all the kids that participated. They all did such a bang-up job. I was very impressed.”
Judges for the speech category included Shannon Gamache, Kevin Nagoya, Vanessa Fulford, Guy Bonneau, Kellie Nichiporik, Ryan Howrish, Elma Herde, Ben Fadeyiw and Janice Dunn.
Volunteers judging the presentations included Evelyn Bourbeau, Dana Swigart, Henri Regimbald, Craig Copeland, Brian McEvoy, Jackie Wakaruk, Aimie Kathan, Nick Broczkowski and Mary Obstfeld.
Public speaking winners
Junior speeches
First Place – Katie Thompson (Beaver River Beef Club)
Second Place – Owen Benoit (Ardmore Beef Club)
Third Place – Alanah Hoeving (Lakeland Long Riders)
Intermediate speeches
First Place – Norah Benoit (Ardmore Beef Club)
Second Place – Carson Somers (Lakeland Long Riders)
Third Place – Faith Rowntree (Iron River Wranglers)
Senior speeches
First Place – Hailey Lobe (Beaver River Beef Club)
Second Place – Riley L'Heureux (Ardmore Beef Club)
Third Place – Jessica Winchester (Iron River Wranglers)
Senior presentations
First Place – Alyssa Davediuk and Brooke Drapaka (Ardmore Beef Club)
Second Place – Ashlyn Tkachuk (Beaver River Beef Club)
Third Place – Shelbea Gamache (Bonnyville Beef Club)
Intermediate presentations
First Place – Shelby Dutertre (Lakeland Long Riders)
Second Place – Olivia Cooper (Bonnyville Beef Club)
Third Place – Autumn Cory and Stella Purdy (Ardmore Beef Club)
Junior presentations
First Place – Melody Brundige and Arielle Thiessen (Beaver River Beef Club)
Second Place – Adley McMann and Layla Purdy (Ardmore Beef Club)
Third Place – Eugene Lord (Bonnyville Beef Club)