4-H to host public-speaking contest for youth

Youth from Bureau, La Salle and Marshall-Putnam counties will put their public-speaking skills on display during the 4-H Public Speaking Contest.

The contest will take place from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 8, in the CTC conference room 125 at Illinois Valley Community College in Oglesby. This event is open to the public.

Youth who participate in this event will present their speech to a live audience and receive professional and peer feedback in a safe and encouraging environment. Participants ages 8 to 18 will get the opportunity to share their skills in organizing, preparing and delivering a speech.

Youth can register in the following four divisions under beginner (8 to 13 years old) or advanced (14 years old and older):

• Formal Speech Division: Youth share their perspective on a topic of their choice with a speech intended to motivate, persuade or inform an audience.
• Illustrated Speech Division: Speeches may inform, persuade or motivate the audience with the use of a visual aid and may include audience participation.
• Oral Interpretation Division: Presentations must be previously published works or manuscripts.
• Original Works Division: Presentations must be entirely written by the presenter.

To register for this event, visit FairEntry.com.

For more information, call your local Extension office, Bureau at 815-875-2878, La Salle at 815-433-0707 or Marshall-Putnam at 309-364-2356.

If you need an accommodation to participate, contact Shasta Hladovak at shlad@illinois.edu or 217-244-5812. Early requests are encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet access needs.

To learn more about 4-H opportunities, call the University of Illinois Extension at 217-244-5812 or email Shasta Hladovak at shlad@illinois.edu.