by Edward Hands
Thanks to the efforts of Easton Lions Ed Hands and Tony Cabral and Social Studies Department Chair Matt Auger, the Easton Lions renewed their participation in the Massachusetts Lions Youth Speech Competition.
The topic for 2014-15 was “Respect: Where Has It Gone?” The winner of the local contest at Oliver Ames High School was Robert Capodilupo. Robert was no stranger to public speaking since he was President of the Class of 2015, a member of the school’s Mock Trial Team, and the host of a program on local cable. He will be attending Harvard this fall and majoring in government and economics. Given his interest in politics it was not surprising that his speech had a patriotic theme of respecting those who have served their country. Robert was successful in the Zone Competition held at the Norton Public Library, but was ultimately defeated at the 33-S Regional Competition in Attleborough.
As a competitor moves up from the club level to regionals, the speaker is allowed fewer and fewer written prompts for their speech which is judged on both effective presentation and the ability to accurately remember what was originally written. The school intends to continue to support the contest in the fall of 2015 when the topic is “In What Ways Has Social Media Changed Society?”
For more information about the Youth Speech Contest, visit the Massachusetts Lions Youth Speech Contest information page at www.lionsyouthspeech.org. If you are interested in helping out next year or know of a student who would like to participate, please contact Ed Hands at edh1620@gmail.com.
