Middle School Students Win West Bloomfield Optimist Contest

On Tuesday, students joined the West Bloomfield Optimist Club to deliver their winning oratories at the . The topic was "How my Optimism Helps Me Overcome Obstacles." Eight dynamic and eloquent young speakers, five girls and 3 boys, between the ages of 13 and 16, participated in the competition which was chaired by Lou Goutman. 

Judges including the Honorable Denise Langford-Morris, the Honorable David Gubow, the Honorable Leo Bowman, and judging coordinator Attorney Jeffrey Leib, voted for Veronica Liu, an eighth-grader who took first-place in the female category, who spoke about her trip to Cambodia. Second and third places were won by Olivia Bowyer and Hanna Martin, respectively, all from OLMS.

In the male category, Rishabh Parekh, a sixth-grader at OLMS, captured first place, with Michael Russo from coming in second place and Jake Cohen, of OLMS placing third. 

The Oratorical Contest is held annually in February/March. Past participants have indicated that it is an ideal opportunity for youngsters to develop and build their confidence and public speaking skills. The competition is open to young persons under the age of 18 who have not yet graduated from high school.

The Optimist Oratorical contest begins at the Club level, then proceeds to the Zone level, then Regional followed by District.  Each winner of the District level contest will receive a scholarship for use at a college, university or trade school only. In a combined gender contest, there will be two winners awarded $2,500 each, or three winners awarded scholarships of $2,500, $1,500 and $1,000 respectively for first, second and third place. In Districts conducting separate gender contests, the first-place boy and girl will receive a scholarship of $2500.

Optimist International is one of the world’s largest service club organizations with 100,000 adult and youth members in 3,400 clubs in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico and throughout the world. Carrying the motto "Bringing Out the Best in Kids," Optimists conduct positive service projects that reach more than six million young people each year. To learn more about Optimist International, call (314) 371-6000 or visit the organization’s website at optimist.org.