WALDOBORO — On the morning of April 15, Medomak Valley High School held its annual Philbrook Speech Competition, an event that highlights and rewards students who have taken a position on a topic, supported it with research, and urged their audience to a call to action. 

This year’s competition of 27 students, coordinated by the English Language Arts Department, started many years ago with a bequest of money from the Philbrook family, but has continued in recent years because of another generous bequest from a local family who chooses to remain anonymous. Three judges from the community — Ms. Willy Ulbrich, Mrs. Susan Campagna, and Mr. Sam Pennington — spent the morning scoring student speeches of 3-5 minutes in length. 

Top speakers receive $500 for 1st place; $300 for 2nd place; and $200 for 3rd place. 

This year’s winning speeches were by Cole Bruno, 1st place (radical forgiveness); CJ Pluecker, 2nd place (felon voting rights); and Kelsey Payson, 3rd place (the impact of social media). 

Three students were also recognized by the judges as Honorable Mentions: Elisah Stanton (using excise tax for schools); Kaia Flaherty  (the impact of domestic abuse); and Gavin White (the power of saying “no”). 

The English Language Arts Department congratulates all speakers on setting the bar high for themselves through their hard work and commitment to continue this very worthwhile tradition.