4-H’ers excel in public speaking contest

BOONE COUNTY – The University of Illinois Extension, Boone County Office hosted a Public Presentations and Food Demonstration Contest on Saturday, June 4, for 4-H’ers to give formal speeches and food demonstrations.

Five 4-H’ers participated in the contest.

In the Public Presentations contest 4-H’ers can choose different speech categories to compete in.  These speeches range from formal speeches that the 4-H’er writes themselves to oral interpretations where they choose a literary work that they recite.

In the Public Presentation contest, the judges awarded Blue Ratings to Ella Ellingson, Genna Ellingson, Brock Irwin, and Willard Rozanas.

In addition, 4-H’ers Genna Ellingson and Brock Irwin were selected to represent Boone County at the Illinois State Fair in August and Ella Ellingson and Willard Rozanas were chosen as alternates to the Illinois State Fair.

The food demonstration contest gives 4-H’ers in the cooking project the opportunity to combine the cooking project with public speaking.

Using props, they demonstrate how to make a recipe from start to finish, much like a demonstration on a cooking show.  4-H’ers are evaluated on their speaking ability, knowledge of subject matter, organization, and food safety techniques.

In the Food Demonstration contest, the judges awarded Blue Ratings to Ella Ellingson and Justin Irwin.

To learn more about the Boone County 4-H Program, please contact the Extension Office at (815) 544-3710 or visit our website at http://web.extension.illinois.edu/bdo/.

If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in this program, please contact your local Extension office.