4-H members practice speaking in non-competitive event
4-H members gave speeches during the 4-H Speaking Opportunity at the Youth Building on Tuesday, Oct. 3 at the fair. Pictured from left are: Caleb Kline (superior award), Lydia Black (excellent award), Piper Andrews (excellent award), Kyra Weaver (very good award), Kiera McPeck (very good award), Emma Ward (very good award), and Conner Webster (very good award). Not pictured are Josie Fornara (excellent award), and William Fortune (very good award).
COSHOCTON – The Coshocton County Fair is a time when youth and adults alike can showcase their talents, whether by showing an animal or displaying crafts and baked goods. But the fair is also an opportunity for young 4-H members to showcase their public speaking talents. On Tuesday, Oct. 3, nine 4-H students stood in front of an audience and gave their speech about what this year’s 4-H theme, “The Time of Our Lives” meant to them. Two cloverbuds also gave their 4-H pledge publicly.
“We want them to gain confidence and learn good grammar and poise in front of an audience,” said Jean Haumschild, committee member. “There are so many places you have to get up and speak. We’re trying to prepare them for a career out in the public. When you get a job, no matter what job it is, you have to run meetings and have poise. In this competition, they are getting to talk about something they love and we let them choose their own theme.”
In June, 4-H members can participate in a competitive speaking event that determines whether or not they qualify for state. In July, they have a demonstration where they can work as a team or individually, and the one at the fair is just for fun.
“This is just an extra opportunity for kids to work on a life skill as they go into high school, college, and eventually a career,” said Haumschild.
Josie Fornara gave her 13th speech and compared 4-H to the movie “Dirty Dancing”. William Fortune gave his third speech on his favorite 4-H memory. Conner Webster gave his eighth speech about what the 4-H theme means to him. Kiera McPeck gave her sixth 4-H speech and talked about how she used her time wisely in 4-H. This was Emma Ward’s fourth speech in 4-H and she spoke about what her club did to celebrate the theme. Piper Andrews’ fourth 4-H speech was about the fun time she had at 4-H camp. Lydia Black gave her second 4-H speech on what this year’s 4-H theme means to her and what she learned in 4-H. Caleb Kline also gave his second 4-H speech about having the time of his life in 4-H. Kyra Weaver gave her first ever 4-H speech about the 4-H theme.
Lisa Lupher and Courtney Lupher served as judges.
“When we’re judging, we look for well-prepared speeches,” said Courtney. “We want to see if they have practiced their speech and feel comfortable speaking in front of an audience. Also, they have a certain time limit and we check to make sure their speech fits within that time limit. We also look at how often they used their index cards during their speech.”
Very Good awards went to Conner Webster, Emma Ward, Kiera McPeck, Kyra Weaver, and William Fortune. Excellent awards went to Piper Andrews, Lydia Black, and Josie Fornara. Superior awards went to Caleb Kline.
Category: Clubs & Organizations
