Naperville American Legion hosts Constitutional Speech Contest
On Saturday morning Feb. 8, seven young speakers took the stage at the Naperville American Legion Post 43 for the seventh- and eighth-grade Constitutional Speech Contest.
In a spirited and competitive contest that provided difficult decisions for the judges, Harshee Shah of Kennedy Junior High School prevailed.
Debasnata Das of Lincoln Junior High School was second and Athena Chen, also of Kennedy, came in as the third-place winner.
Each student received a cash award and has been invited to compete at the district contest Saturday, Feb. 29, at the Visitor Center Theater at Cantigny Park in Winfield. All contestants received an Amazon gift card.
The contests are intended to develop a deeper knowledge of the United States Constitution while furthering the students research, writing, and public speaking skills.
Each student speaks for four to six minutes on a phase of the Constitution they have chosen.
The Naperville contest, held in February each year, is open to seventh- and eighth-grade students in the general Naperville area.
The contest is a precursor to the American Legion's High School Constitutional Oratorical Contest.
Since 2005, six winners of the Naperville High School contest have gone on to win the state contest.
Two reached the finals in the national contest in Indianapolis, placing second and third.
The state and national contests combined provide more than $150,000 in scholarship awards to participants.
The American Legion is the nation's largest veterans organization. The American Legion activities are formed around "Four Pillars of Service": Veterans Affairs and rehabilitation; national security; Americanism; and children and youth.
On Sunday, Feb. 23, the Sons of the American Legion will host its second annual pancake breakfast from 7 to 11 a.m. at the Naperville VFW Hall, 908 Jackson Ave. The meal will include pancakes, sausage, orange juice, milk and coffee. Cost is $7 or $5 for kids, age 12 or younger. A portion of the proceeds will support veteran causes.
The post meets at 7 p.m. on the first Thursday of the month. The Naperville American Legion Post 43 is located at 10 W. Chicago Ave.
For information, visit www.naperlegion.org or follow the post on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.