ST. PAUL - Twenty-four speakers and 16 presenters from clubs in 10 districts in the North East 4-H Region gathered in the St. Paul Recreation Centre on Saturday to compete in the Regional Communication Day with six teams of judges choosing 18 winners who came from seven of those districts.
Speakers came from all 10 districts, showcasing their talents for the very impressed judges of all three age groups.
Wanda Cochrane, a former 4-H member and leader herself, judged the junior group along with Harold Ross and Laureena Kipps, and told the Juniors they had done “a phenomenal job.”
Leon Ward, judging the intermediate speakers with Lana MacDonald and Michael Proctor, called that group’s messages “passionate and inspired,” while Glenda Bristow, judging with Wayne Krekoski and Maureen Miller, called the seniors “a really hard group to be judging. Your speeches were complex and amazing and I’m blown away. Public speaking is one of the biggest tools you’ll ever have.”
Kenzie Byrne from the Vermilion River district placed first in the junior speeches, with a prepared speech entitled ‘Destination Adventure’ and an impromptu on ‘Baking Cookies.’ Second place went to Rylan Jackson of the Minburn district, with ‘No Days Off’ and third place to Payslee Trefanenko of the St. Paul district with her speech ‘On Top of the World.’
Kate Albrecht of the Beaver district spoke on ‘Moving Forward’ with the hard work and flexibility needed for the beef industry, followed up with an impromptu on stress management, to top the intermediate group. Shyanne Klatt of the St. Paul district came second with ‘The Unknown’, speaking on her career choice as a paramedic, while Isabelle Jacula, from the Vermilion River district was third with ‘E-MC2’.
Another Vermilion River district speaker, Maren Abuzukar, won the top senior award with her perspective on ‘The Risks, Realities and Rewards of GMOs’ and an impromptu on ‘Setting a Good Example as an Adult.’ Allie Behiels from the Lamont district came second with ‘Freedom of Speech: It’s Not Free’ and Ashlynn Trefanenko, representing the St. Paul district, was third with her advice to ‘Be More Like a Dog’ and enjoy the small things in life.
Mercedes Trefanenko of the St. Paul Multi Club was mistress of ceremonies for the speeches, with Shelley Jean and Jennifer Germain timing the speeches and impromptus, and Lucille Smith and Ellen Seward serving as tellers.
Upstairs in the curling rink lounge, representatives of eight districts showed off their presentation skills for another three judging teams.
Juniors were judged by Patty Mathiot, Emilie Labrie and Laverne Wilson, who chose Kurt Yaremko of the St. Paul district, with his video-backed display of ‘Grain Farming Machinery and Equipment’ placing first. Owen Newman, Vermilion River, with a video and exploding balloon assisting his demonstration on ‘Mysteries of the Universe’ came in second, and Karly Weleschuk of Minburn, placed third with ‘Ooey Gooey Slime’.
Intermediate presenters were judged by Melanie Lawton, D’Arcy Evans and Amanda Mathiot. A colourful and nostalgic look into her Ukrainian heritage gave Shelby Dutertre of the Bonnyville district the win. Ethan Yaremko of St. Paul, took second place with a presentation entitled ‘Goats are the G.O.A.T.’ and Taylor Longmuir and Grace Fordyce of the Wainwright district demonstrated ‘The World of Tack’ to place third.
Ava Herbert, also from the Wainwright district, led the senior demonstrators with ‘Change of Pace,’ showing her progress and success in running to judges Dwight Wiebe, Maxine Fodness and Cathy Ockerman. Judges placed Aletta and Sjykar Dechaine of the Bonnyville district, second with their demonstration on ‘Life With a Doodle’, and Madison MacDonald, Vermilion River, got third with ‘The Spanish Connection’.
Megan Krys of Vermilion was mistress of ceremonies for the presentations, which were timed by Mandy Yaceyko and Jessica Murray, and with Christie Lanza and Danielle Kwiatkowski serving as tellers.
