The Rotary Club of Yonkers-East Yonkers hosted the final round of its inaugural and First Annual Youth Speech Contest on April 27, 2022, at the Fairways at Dunwoodie. Sixteen high school students from Yonkers participated in the contest’s preliminary round, which was held on March 28, 29, and 30, 2022, at the Yonkers Riverfront Library. Each student was required to deliver a five-minute speech on the
topic, “What I would like to see improved in Yonkers and why.” The top contestant on each of the three days of the preliminary round were invited to speak at the final round.
Diamond Krigger of the Charter School of Educational Excellence won third place and a $200 cash prize; Adrina Tiju of Yonkers Middle High School won second place and a $300 cash prize; and, Brieanna Boateng of Riverside High School won first place – becoming the inaugural Contest Champion – and a $500 cash prize. Each finalist was also awarded a plaque commemorating their achievement, a complimentary membership in the Goodwill Toastmasters Club – a unique collaboration between Toastmasters, a nearly-century old public speaking organization, and Rotary, the 117-year-old humanitarian service organization – and a citation from Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano. All three finalists were sophomores at their respective schools.
Kristiana Deda, a third grader from Annunciation School in Yonkers, also spoke at the contest, and was presented with an Honorable Mention Award.
The final round judges were, in alphabetical order: Amir Asadi, Vice President Membership, Goodwill Toastmasters Club; Ron Matten, Associate Vice President, New York Medical College; Hon. Shelley Mayer, New York State Senator, 37th Senate District; Rev. William E. Norman, Director of Veterans’ Services, City of Yonkers; and, Lucria Ortiz, President and CEO, Yonkers Family YMCA.
Students’ speeches from the preliminary and final rounds of the Yonkers Rotary Club’s inaugural speech contest are available on the Yonkers Rotary Youth Speech Contest YouTube channel (final round speeches here; preliminary round speeches here). Additional photos and videos from the final round are expected to be posted on that YouTube channel and the Yonkers Rotary Youth Speech Contest Facebook page.
The Yonkers Rotary Club expects to hold its Second Annual Youth Speech Contest in spring 2023, and to release information about that contest by February 2023. Inquiries may be addressed to Alan Gray, Chair of the Yonkers Rotary Club’s Youth Speech Contest Committee, at speechcontest@yonkersrotary.org.
