Janel Lee, a freshman at Amador Valley High School, Pleasanton, has won Pleasanton North Rotary Club’s Youth Speech Contest.

 

Ms. Lee’s five-minute speech was judged the best of three five-minute presentations Jan. 6 at the Rotary chapter’s weekly meeting at the Hilton Hotel at the Club, Pleasanton.

 

The speeches addressed the theme of “Reach within to embrace humanity,” and included at least one mandatory reference to the principles of the Rotary Four-Way Test that guides the organization’s commitment to community service and fellowship.

 

Ms. Lee considered how the personal pleasure playing the violin spread across audience creating a special experience for elderly residents who heard her perform at local specialty nursing facility.

 

Ms. Lee was awarded a $100 and qualified to compete in area finals of the Rotary District 5170’s Richard D. King Annual Youth Speech contest in Livermore. Regional and district competitions will follow.

 

Amador sophomores Sally Kim and Samuel Lyou were awarded $50 and $25, respectively, for their second and third place finishes.

 

All three contestants are members of Amador High’s Mock Trial Team, Steve Sherman noted.

 

Kevin Greenlee, PNR’s youth services coordinator, chaired the local competition. Susan Dupree, PhD, a clinical psychologist in Dublin, Jim Ott, chief financial officer of iGATE, Livermore, and Teresa Parham, teen librarian at the Pleasanton Public Library judged the competition.

 

Greenlee informed the audience that local chapters of District 5170 annual sponsor the contest with three goals in mind. The first objective is to increase student awareness about the value of public speaking. The second aims at increasing public knowledge about Rotary’s objectives and principles. The third objective awards student participation with monetary prizes.