Winnebago County 4-H held its annual Public Speaking and Demonstrations Contest at the Winnebago County Extension office in Rockford on March 12. This annual event gives 4-H youth, ages 8 to 18, a chance to present to families and community members, as well as compete for a chance to participate in the state public speaking contest on April 26 at Parkland College in Champaign.
This year, the county had participants competing in the Formal Speech-Original Works and Illustrated Speech categories. Winnebago County 4-H Program Coordinator Rob Wiener welcomed the group, went over the contest rules and procedures, and introduced the judge, Kaleb Price. Rob said, “This is a big deal. It takes a lot of courage for youth to stand up in front of a group of people and present something; many adults are not comfortable doing this, so I really admire that these contestants are taking the initiative to start working on their communication skills at such an early age. These are skills that they will continually utilize throughout the rest of their lives.”
Judge Kaleb Price, a community engagement specialist for i3 Broadband, provided feedback to each of the presenters after the contest. Price said it was a great experience, and he was happy to be a part of it.
Class winners were Rockton resident Addison Coke, and Robert Hopkins, from Rockford. Coke was the grand champion winner. Both youth are eligible to compete in the state contest.
University of Illinois Extension develops educational programs, extends knowledge, and builds partnerships to support people, communities, and their environments as part of the state's land-grant institution. Extension serves as the leading public outreach effort for University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences in all 102 Illinois counties through a network of 27 multi-county units and over 700 staff statewide. Extension’s mission is responsive to eight strategic priorities — community, economy, environment, food and agriculture, health, partnerships, technology and discovery, and workforce excellence — that are served through six program areas — 4-H youth development, agriculture and agribusiness, community and economic development, family and consumer science, integrated health disparities, and natural resources, environment, and energy.