Youth from throughout Lincoln County were provided with an opportunity to practice and enhance their public speaking skills during this year’s Communication Contest. During this pre-fair event, youth were able to share an illustrated talk, give an original speech, read poetry or prose and perform a puppetry act. The contest was held on Saturday, Feb. 10, at the Lincoln County Service Center in Merrill. Peter and Maxine Schuetze served as coordinators for the contest; Nancy Herbison served as the judge; and Ben Freyer and Lily Cordova, 4-H Ambassadors served as the emcee for the contest.
The Communications Contest is open to all youth grades 5-year-old kindergarten to 13th grade (one year out of high school). A study conducted by the Wisconsin 4-H Youth Development program found that children that participate in 4-H arts and communication programs gain important technical, communication and teamwork skills while increasing their self-esteem and self-confidence. Youth who took part in this survey reported that their work with 4-H helped them improve their individual performance and creativity skills, build good learning habits as they integrated feedback from judges, and bolstered their opportunities to become confident public speakers. The Communication Contest is an example of a local 4-H arts and communication program in Lincoln County.
Participants included:
CLOVERBUD DIVISION – KINDERGARTEN to 2nd Grade
“Cub Scouts” an original speech performed by Leo Lazare, member of the Merrill Busy Bees 4-H Club
Participation Ribbon
“If You Give a Dog a Donut” a reading of prose performed by Shelby Yates, member of the Pine River Pioneer Sunrise 4-H Club
Participation Ribbon
“My Trip to Germany” an illustrated talk performed by Siobhan Schuetze, member of the Pine River Peppers 4-H Club
Participation Ribbon
JUNIOR DIVISION – 3RD to 5th Grade
“DARE to Resist Drugs and Violence” an illustrated talk performed by Leah Freyer, member of the Pine River Peppers 4-H Club
Blue Ribbon and eligible for Wisconsin State Fair
“What DARE Means to Me” an original speech performed by Merin Yates, member of the Pine River Pioneer Sunrise 4-H Club
Blue Ribbon
“Four Brothers” a group reading of prose performed by Ian Morgan, Jameson Morgan, Seth Morgan and Vincent Morgan, members of the Pine River Peppers 4-H Club
Blue Ribbon, Merit Award and eligible for Wisconsin State Fair
“Veterinarians” an original speech performed by Amara Lazare, member of the Merrill Busy Bees 4-H Club
Blue Ribbon and Honorable Mention Award
INTERMEDIATE DIVISION – 6TH to 8th Grade
“The Game Show” a puppetry performance performed by Arawen Alberg, Christian Lashua and Magdalene Lashua, members of the Hi-Lo’s 4-H Club
Blue Ribbon
Excerpt from “Dragonwings” a reading of prose performed by Kekoa Schuetze, member of the Pine River Peppers 4-H Club
Blue Ribbon, Honorable Mention Award and eligible for Wisconsin State Fair
“The Walrus and the Carpenter” a reading of poetry performed by Benjamin Freyer, member of the Pine River Peppers 4-H Club
Blue Ribbon, Best of Show Award and eligible for Wisconsin State Fair
“America’s Gift to My Generation” an original speech performed by Dafney Yates, member of the Pine River Pioneer Sunrise 4-H Club
Blue Ribbon
“Rock-Sword-Firecracker” a puppetry performance performed by Ben Freyer, Leah Freyer, Ian Morgan, Seth Morgan, members of the Pine River Peppers 4-H Club
Blue Ribbon and eligible for Wisconsin State Fair
Congratulations to all of our participants.
If you are interested in learning more about 4-H or how to getting involved in Lincoln County 4-H, please feel free to contact the UW-Extension office at (715) 539-1072 or visit our website at http://lincoln.uwex.edu/ or subscribe to the Lincoln County 4-H Blog http://fyi.uwex.edu/lincolncounty4h/ for up to the minute 4-H news. Wisconsin 4-H Youth Development is a program of the University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension in partnership with local, state and federal government in each Wisconsin county.