Destin American Legion Post 296 Oratorical Chairman Jim Wood attended the National High School Oratory Scholarship Competition at Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Mich., on May 18-19, 2024. The local Post’s competitor was William Kiker from Fort Walton Beach High School, the winner of the local Post 296 competition and ultimately the Florida State/Department Championship.
Required speeches centered around the US Constitution in varying lengths from eight to ten minutes and three to five minutes, depending on the category of speech. The awards for those who made the final three competitors were $27K, $24.5K and $22K. The winner also received an all expense paid trip to New Orleans to the American Legion National Convention in Aug 2024.
Although not victorious this year, a number of valuable lessons were learned that will be applied in order to hopefully again be able to represent the State of Florida at next year’s competition.
Photo Caption: William Kiker representing Post 296 receiving his $2000 scholarship award from National Commander Dan Seehafer.
