Rotary Hosts Hugh Cottis Speech Competition

The Rotary Club of Abaco hosted the Annual Hugh Cottis Speech Competition on February 11. It was held at the Anglican Parish Hall. The competition was split into three divisions: Primary, Junior and Senior. Twelve students competed in total.

The winners of Primary, Junior and Senior, respectively, were: Daphne D’Haiti (Long Bay School), Ebany Hanna (Forest Heights Academy) and Jonnajah Boodle (Forest Heights Academy).

Felamease Sawyer, Education officer with the Department of Education, was the morning’s Moderator. Steve Davis, Debbie Curry and Michael Knowles were the judges; Bradley Albury was the Score Keeper and Wallas was the Time Keeper.

Each grade category had a different speech topic: “The Value of Education in the Digital Age,” “Rotary International as a Source of Inspiration for the Younger Generation,” and “Enlightening the World through Rotary.”

Eight schools were represented: Central Abaco Primary, Long Bay School, James A. Pinder Primary, Angels Academy, Abaco Central High, Forest Heights Academy, Wesley College and St. Francis.

Primary competitors: Abriel Ingraham, Daphne D’Haiti (winner), Antonia Rolle and Rocky Thompson.

Junior competitors: Charisma Price, Ebany Hanna (winner), Desmona Bootle and Danica Edgecombe.

Senior competitors: Jonnajah Boodle (winner), Joshua Archer, Donovan Hepburn and Jessica Knowles.

It was a tight competition with the winners just barely edging out their colleagues by a few points. The Speech Competition showed the creativity, poise and preparation of the students. Few mistakes were made in general, making the judges’ job difficult. However, when the scores were tallied independently the winners were named.

The Senior and Junior winners, Jonnajah and Ebany, were invited to recreate their speech the following Monday at the Rotary Club of Abaco’s dinner meeting.