2013 CFB Rotary Four-Way Speech Contest a Success

Pictured left to right:  Kevin Kehl of Creekview, Merryn McNeil of R.L. Turner, Sarah Grace Withers of Newman Smith, and Sean Kelly of Ranchview.

The 2013 Carrollton-Farmers Branch Rotary Club Four-Way Speech Contest was a resounding success once again, with the four particpating students "wowing" Rotarians, educators, friends and family.  The annual program -- cherished by Club members and always a highlight of the year -- featured Kevin Kehl from Creekview High School, Merryn McNeil from R.L. Turner High School, Sarah Grace Withers from Newman Smith High School, and Sean Kelly from Ranchview High School.

The winning contestant, Kevin Kehl, applied the Rotary Four-Way Test to the double standards that too often pervade our society.  His lively and animated, yet introspective, speech had the crowd laughing at certain points, and deep in thought during others.  Ms. McNeil, who participated in last year's contest, returned to the Garden Terrace at Brookhaven to talk about her personal struggle with muscular dystrophy.  Ms. Withers implored our national leaders to apply the Four-Way Test to the ballooning national debt crisis, and to get our fiscal house in order.  Finally, Mr. Kelly weighed the virtues of AP & IB classes in high school, and ruminated about the value of such courses to the students enrolled in them.

While all of the speeches were outstanding, there could only be one winner.  Mr. Kehl took top honors, while McNeil came in second, Withers placed third, and Kelly rounded out the fourth spot.  This was not an easy decision for our judges by any stretch of the imagination.

To view photos from the Four-Way Speech Contest, please click here.