Saint Philomena’s student Gemma Mihill won the Moree Rotary on Gwydir Public Speaking contest.
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Gemma, along with two Moree Secondary College students competed on Tuesday evening in front of a judging panel chosen by Rotary.
Youth Public Speaking coordinator Malou Deakin said it was the sixth year running their competition and surprisingly a year of firsts.
“It was the first year a Saint Philomena’s student has entered the competition and it’s also the first year we’ve been able to give prizes to competitors,” she said.
Malou was happy to see the event growing, along with the talent.
“We had some outstanding speakers on Tuesday evening. I was glad not to be a judge. They all performed well, entertained and had different methods to captivate the audience. They all had different topics as well.”
Sticking to the Moree Rotary on Gwydir principals each contestant pleased judges and overcame fears of being out of their comfort zone.
Malou said the speakers topic was their own choice but must relate to Rotary principals, including the four way test: Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships and will it be beneficial to all concerned?
“Gemma’s speech was about poverty. She was very relaxed, projected her voice well and when she smiled she changed the whole atmosphere.
“Her sincerity was shown with her body language as she touched her heart when speaking about her passion. Her eye contact was also very good and she had a natural ability to connect with the crowd.”
Gemma will now represent Moree at the Cluster 8 Youth Public Speaking Contest in Warialda.
There will be contestants from Warialda, Moree on Gwydir, Moree Rotary, Inverell East, Inverell and Barraba.
“Moree have two clubs and so does Inverell so they’ll have two competitors but the competition level will step up because everyone is there to win and advance to the next level,” she said.
Malou had a strong feeling Gemma will shine at Warialda and please the judging pannel.
“When she smiles, she makes you smile and with some added practice memorising her speech she will do fantastic.
“Members of Moree Rotary on Gwydir are very proud of her.”
Gemma was also the overall winner at the Saint Philomena’s Year 7 to 10 public speaking awards recently.
Moree on Gwydir Rotary hold the youth public speaking competition yearly to encourage youth to embrace public speaking and get to know more about Rotary.
