The deadline for the Rotary Club of Augusta’s 2025 speech contest is Monday, Feb. 17.
The club invites area high school students to participate in the annual Preston Johnson Speech Contest which engages Rotarians, educators and students in a meaningful and rewarding opportunity for the personal development of our nation’s future leaders, according to a news release.
All Richmond and Columbia County public, private and home-schooled high school students are eligible to participate. Each speech is limited to three to four minutes on the student’s choice of one of two topics: either the “Rotary 4-Way Test” or Rotary International’s theme for 2024-2025, “The Magic of Rotary.” Ideas regarding the topics may be found at www.rotary.org.
Local winners will receive cash awards of $1,000 for first place and $750 for second place; additional cash prizes will be awarded to third and fourth place winners and to honorable mentions. Both first and second place local winners will also compete for an opportunity to receive a $1,000 scholarship at the Rotary Zone level. Our Zone winner will also present his or her speech in late April 2025 at the Rotary District Conference at Jekyll Island.
The local contest will be held at the Morris Museum of Art at 1 Tenth Street on Feb. 27 beginning at 8:30 a.m. Participants will be assigned times to arrive.
There is a limit of five applicants per school. Students should contact their school guidance counselors for further information or visit https://www.rotaryaugusta.org/speech-contest-info/ for more information and to register for the contest.
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