Group Photo from 2014-2015 Speech and Debate Banquet

Photo: Courtesy of Evelyn Carraway, 5/19/15

ECHS Debaters at the Carteret County Public School System's 2015 Celebration of Excellence

Pictured, from left to right: Aliz'e Taylor, Jordan Robinson, Sabrina Carraway, Taylor Lord, John Newton, Madison Lea, and Adviser Ms. Julia Brown

ECHS Students Win Optimist International Oratorical Contest

Standing from left to right: ECHS teacher Julia Brown, orator J. Tyler Lester, judge Janie Price, orator Nicholas Brittingham, judge John Smith, orator John Newton, judge Lt. Col. Christopher Green, contest chair Denard Harris.  Seated from left to right are Optimist contest co-chair Kay Harris, orator Kaitlyn Lawrence, orator Sabrina Carraway, orator Jordan Robinson, and timekeeper Amy Holland.

“How My Optimism Will Help Me Press on to Greater Achievements of the Future” is this year’s Optimist International oratorical contest theme that took center stage for six students of Carteret County high school students at the Morehead City Train Depot on March 31st.

Sponsored by the Carteret Optimist Club, under the direction of Denard and Kay Harris, the event was county level of competition in a speech contest that dates back more than 80 years. At the first level, East Carteret teacher Julia Brown prepared students and held school-wide eliminations with the top speakers selected by Bob Hussan, Craven Community Shakespeare Contest Chair; former Optimist champion Max Masterson, and peers from each class. Attorney B. J. Peter assembled the county wide panel of judges: Toastmaster and former public speaking professor John Smith, Camp Lejeune deputy circuit military judge Lieutenant Colonel Christopher M. Greer (himself a former high school debater and Model UN delegate), and Janie Price, retired writer for U. S. News and World Reports who judged this county wide level.

“The Optimist Oratorical Contest gives youngsters the chance to speak to the world,” said Denard Harris, speech contest coordinator for the Carteret County chapter.

The orators all had to follow strict guidelines which included not identifying themselves with Optimist Amy Holland serving as the official timekeeper.

The Optimist speech competition is limited to students under the age of 19 years old, who are educated in the United States, Canada, or the Caribbean.

First conducted in 1928, the contest is held at nearly 2,000 local Optimist clubs each year. The winners at the county level receive medallions and zone winners receive a plaque. With the ultimate winner walking away with $27,400.

During the Carteret competition, the young speakers, who all happened to be students from East Carteret High School, were divided into two competitive categories – one for boys, and the other for girls. The East Carteret high school speakers were all under the age of nineteen. Gold medalists were senior John Newton and sophomore Kaitlyn Lawrence. Silver medalists were senior Sabrina Carraway and sophomore Nicholas Brittingham. Bronze medalists were freshmen Jordan Robinson and J. Tyler Lester.

John Newton and Kaitlyn Lawrence will compete in the zone competition in Greenville on Monday, April 20th. Senior John Newton will complete “unfinished business” that he began when he first qualified at this level as a ninth grader in 2011-2012

Ole Towne Rotary Sponsors The East Carteret Billy Stanley Memorial Speech and Debate Tournament

Standing in the top row from left to right Johnathan Joyner, John Newton, Damian Emory.  Second row standing from left to right speech teacher Julia Brown, Farrah Robles, Andrew Rutledge, Alexis Stevenson.  Kneeling from left to right Sabrina Carraway, Ethan Lynk, and Jonas Willis.

East Carteret High School National Forensic League speech and debate team hosted a Tarheel Forensic League tournament on March 28th, in Beaufort. The event was named the Billy Stanley Memorial Mariner Invitational to honor a debate parent whose support had helped his own son Will Stanley and Will’s teammates, the Debating Mariners, attain success and strength.

Ole Towne Rotary sponsored this event purchasing the trophies, research materials for students, judging materials, concessions for debaters and judges. Jeff Newton of Newton Law, Otway Hardware, Jerry Lawrence Construction, Frances S. Newton, Lyn Baker, Lowe’s food, Delta Kappa Gamma, Cynthia Weeks, the Carteret County Democratic Women, the Crystal Coast TEA Party, and East Carteret parents also made food and gave materials and support.

Over a hundred students converged on East Carteret, including debaters from Massey Hill Classical High School, Jack Britt, and Howard Health and Life Sciences Academy. .

Parents and aunts and grandparents, coordinated by Mary Lawrence, Evelyn Carraway, Ann Joyner, and Debbie Emory prepared judges’ food and concession stand sales and enlisted the volunteer judges from the East Carteret community family.

East’s own debate captain graduate and Tarheel Forensic League student of the year of 2014 and North Carolina Debater of the year of 2014, Jace Lawrence served as legislative debate parliamentarian and assisted in the preparations. Former East debate captain Liberty University student Joshua Allen Wade, a national champion in the college debate league, came to engineer the tournament, to do what is unique in North Carolina which only the tiny East Carteret debate team offers: a single-day speech invitational to opportune students to triple-enter in multiple events and double enter in debate. Mr. Wade coordinated tabulation and registration with Dr. Karen Hachmeister Skarda.

Dr. Skarda’s children George, Mariah, and Elissa Hachmeister are all graduate East Carteret speech team and mock trial debaters. Elissa Hachmeister, who studied law at Wake Forest, is representing the North American region in international moot court this month in Florida.

ECHS graduate debaters, parents, grandparents, relatives, community leaders, and the Crystal Coast TEA Party came to write ballots alongside judges from the attending schools. In order to make such an ambitious event possible, giving their time from our community were Lyn Baker, Evelyn Carraway, Bob Cavanaugh, Sarah Chewning, Emily and Royce Dudley, Debbie Emory, Taylor Griffin, Colleen Guthrie, Lee Ann Guthrie, Robert Holt, Ken Lang, Jace Lawrence, Jennifer Lawrence, Mary Lawrence, Deena Lynk, Bob Malone, Janet and Patrick Murphy, JoAnn Newton, Cory Noe, Ruth Parker, Misty Rice, Karen Skarda, Harrison Smith, Chris Suggs, Caulean Vesey, Walter Wood, and Kathleen Zbytniuk.

In the national events, East Carteret’s congressional debate winners are 1st place Damian Emory and 2nd place Johnathan Joyner. Impromptu speaking winners are 1st place John Newton, 2nd place Andrew Rutledge, and 3rd place Ethan Lynk. Lincoln-Douglas debate winner is 2nd place Sabrina Carraway. Extemporaneous speaking winners are 1st place Ethan Lynk and 2nd place Andrew Rutledge. Original Oratory winner is 1st place Jonas Willis. Dramatic interpretation winner is 6th place Farrah Robles.

In the supplemental events, East Carteret’s oral interpretation winners are 2nd place Jonas Willis, 3rd place John Newton, and 5th place Sabrina Carraway. Radio announcing winners are 4th place John Newton, 6th place Farrah Robles, and honorable mention Alexis Stevenson. Improvisational duet acting 6th place winners are Ethan Lynk and Andrew Rutledge.

East Carteret awards their guests the first place sweepstake trophy to Howard Health and Life Science Academy, second to Jack Britt, and third to Massey Hill Classical. The overall individual sweepstakes tournament champion is East Carteret student John J. Newton, II, son of Jeff and Jo Ann Newton.

“We are grateful to Ole Towne Rotary and our community for making regional debate success possible for our beloved students in Carteret County,” says East Carteret’s debate coach teacher Julia Brown. Miss Brown introduced speech and debate to East Carteret in 1996, brought student congress to Hawaii Speech League in 1977, and is the 278th debate coach since 1925 to receive the National Forensic League Distinguish Service Medal.

The East Carteret debate team’s next challenges will be the Optimist International oratorical contests. If you would like to be a part of the ECHS legacy, please contact East Carteret teacher Julia Brown at julia1@stanfordalumni.org

Click here to access photos from ECHS NSADA's 2015 Billy Stanley Invitational Tournament!

Volunteer Form for our March 28 Tournament

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1sQF8tzwuGepw-JGMNi6jjX6OP_3fclLYn4-2IZvuvfg/viewform?c=0&w=1

February Congratulations

• Andrew Rutledge placed 6th in the District Congressional Tournament!
• John Newton won $50 at the local Rotary Against Drugs Competition!