On President’s Day Weekend, the top student orators in the state will arrive in Frisco in hopes of winning the top honors in the annual Oratorical Competition of the American Legion, Department of Texas.
Over the 23 Legion districts of Texas, students have been competing with their presentation of original speeches on the subject of the U.S. Constitution. Each of the 23 districts selected a winner to send to one of the four Legion division contests. Now, the top speakers from those divisions have reached the penultimate round, and will vie on President’s Day in front of a distinguished judging panel to be named state champion. $5,000 in scholarship prizes will be awarded across the four state finalists.
The competition will take place at the Frisco ISD Administration building in the Boardroom. Orators were required to write and memorize an original speech on some aspect of the Constitution, with emphasis on a citizen’s duties and obligations to our government, and have been using this oratory throughout the competition. There is an additional element of the contest where a student must deliver extemporaneous remarks over one of four amendments to the U.S. Constitution, and the specific amendment will be drawn on the day of the competition.
After winning on President’s Day, the 2019 Texas state champion will then advance to the National Competition in Indianapolis to compete against 54 other students from across the U.S., for a pool of $160,000 in scholarships.
American Legion Peter J Courcy Post 178 of Frisco is proud to have been selected to host the state competition for 2019. “It is a distinct honor for Post 178 to be chosen to host this highly-renowned contest,” observes Post Commander Fred Rogers.
Many volunteers from Post 178 and American Legion Auxiliary 178 are assisting with mounting the competition, as well as with a banquet for the finalists and their families on the night before the contest. During the weekend of the finals, Post 178 and the Frisco area will be host to many state officials and dignitaries from the Legion Department of Texas
The competition is open to the public, and begins at 9:00 am on Monday, February 18, 2019 at the FISD Administration Building, 5515 Ohio Drive, Frisco, Texas 75035. Admission is free.
Learn more about the State Oratorical Competition at https://txlegion.org/programs/oratorical/.