Abigail Koogler, a senior of Hillsboro High School, was the school’s first place winner and became the overall club winner last week at the annual Hillsboro Rotary Four-Way Test Speech Competition.
Koogler will be the club’s representative at the Rotary District 6670 competition that will be held on Sunday, March 27 at Wright State University. This is Koogler’s second appearance in the district competition. She spoke on gerrymandering and the fairness of a two-party political system.
The overall runner-up at Tuesday’s event was Shaleigh Duncan, a senior and first place winner at Fairfield High School. Her speech was about COVID-19 and how it affected junior high students both with behavioral and academic issues
The second place winner from Hillsboro High School was Kyah Chaney, a junior who spoke on managing anxiety issues as a student.
The speeches are to have topics of leadership, service and the Four-Way Test. The contestants must apply the Four-Way Test — Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned? All aspects of the test are to be articulated in the speech, or it will result in disqualification.
The judges at last week’s event were Annie Rankin, Suzanne Roberts and Amy Hamilton.
Submitted by Amatha Farrens, Hillsboro Rotary Club.