Adeline Rich, an eighth grader at Patton Middle School, won first place in the Noon Rotary Club’s annual 4-Way Speech contest. Adeline’s speech, “Bystanders: We Need to Empower Them to Speak Up” was based on a bullying incident she witnessed against three young Muslim girls that was stopped by a bystander.
Adeline was one of six finalists, all eighth graders, in the middle school competition, which included Rosalia Hernandez and Emma Keister from Patton; and Margaret Bowman, Ukiah Halloran-Steiner and Maria Martinez from Duniway. The finalists had already finished as the top three at their respective schools.
The competitors presented their speeches at a Rotary luncheon where Rotarians rated the speeches based on ideas and content, organization, language and delivery. Students were also awarded points for keeping the speech between 3:30 and 4:30 minutes.
The contest is based on the guiding principles of the Rotary 4-Way test: “Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned?”
Adeline will now represent McMinnville at the district competition later this spring.