Every year, students from the Clearfield Area Jr-Sr High School can participate in the Rotary District 4-Way Test Speech Contest. This contest is open for students in grades ten and eleven and is help in March. Due to the pandemic, this contest was held virtually in order to ensure the safety of judges and participants. Students pre-recorded their speeches and sent them in, mainly due to the school closure that occurred during the time of the contest.

The topic of the speech may be chosen by the student, but it must revolve around the Rotary’s 4-Way Test. The 4-Way Test includes four separate questions, those of which being is it the truth, is it fair to all concerned, will it build good and better friendships, and is it beneficial to all concerned?

This year, seven students participated in the local contest by sending in their recorded speech videos. The seven students were Isaac Owens, Luke Sidorick, Elizabeth Ryan, David Graham, Olivia Bender, Ben Leighow, and CJ Blowers. Those who placed and received cash prizes were CJ Blowers in third, Olivia Bender in second, and Ben Leighow in first.

Leighow advanced to the regional contest on April 10. After winning regionals, he was eligible for the district finals.

All in all, the Rotary District 4-Way Speech Contest has been a great opportunity for all of the students who participated. Everyone who participated worked extremely hard on their speeches and put a lot of time and dedication into perfecting them.