Willow Lane Elementary School hosted the Rotary Club’s Regional 4 Way Test speech contest March 22. Willow Lane Elementary School Principal Dr. Anthony Moyer is also a member of the Emmaus Rotary Club who organized this regional contest. All Rotary Clubs have the opportunity to host a contest in February or March. Monetary prizes at the club level typically range from $50 for third place, $75 for second place and $100 for first place.

Each club’s first place winner competes at the regional contest. The purpose of the speech contest is to “foster ethical principles in everyday life” while introducing high school students to the Rotary Club which is an organization providing service to others.

The Rotary developed its “4 Way Test” to promote four questions to guide ethical decision making. Is it truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

Participants had to prepare an original speech with a 5-7 minute delivery illustrating how the 4 Way Test applies to their lives, activities, goals and/or interests. Students were encouraged to choose a topic they are passionate about and use the four questions to address the ethical issue.

Judges listened for content or practical application of the four ways which counted for 50% of the final score. Students could use examples of peer groups experiences, human interest appeal and clarity of language in this category.

Organization of the speech was 30% of the final score. The speaker needed to display a solid introduction, development and conclusion to the speech.

Finally, the delivery of the speech accounted for 20% of the final score. Judges listened for clear enunciation and vocal projection and watched for eye contact, posture and use of gestures to emphasize points.

Speakers are only known by number before presenting their speech to keep the judging more objective.

“Public speaking is a necessary skill and one that even adults struggle with,” Moyer told the audience. He added, “We are so proud to have these young people engaging in public speaking opportunities like this.”

The first speaker to take the podium was Josh Garcia of Freedom High School and Bethlehem Area Vocational Technical School. Garcia delivered a speech about using failure as motivation to succeed. “Too often,” Garcia said, “people look at failure as the end. But, you could learn from failures and succeed.”

Nazareth High School’s Sriman Goli was next to speak about transforming fashion. “Companies like Temu offer customers products cheaply, but at what cost? They are using sweatshops, low wages and horrible working conditions to provide these goods,” he shared.

Aubrey Brinton, a student at Parkland High School was next to take the podium. The unexpected death of a classmate moved Brinton to deliver a speech about the need for mental health screenings for young people. “With mental health screenings, perhaps the life of my classmate could have been saved,” she appealed to the audience.

The last two speakers shared a common interest in the topic of animals.

Emmaus High School student Amanda King delivered a compassionate speech about the rights of animals. Her passion for not using animals for testing was apparent and she delivered an emotional speech.

Whitehall High School student Sarah Mullins spoke about the profits of puppy mills. “Adoption or dying,” Mullins said, “These are the choices for some animals.”

The judges struggled with determining the top three winners as all five students delivered powerful 4 Way Test arguments.

After much deliberation from the judges, Goli was awarded first place which came with a $300 monetary award. He will deliver his speech at the Rotary District Conference being held at the Hershey Lodge April 4-6 in Hershey. He has an opportunity to win a $1,000 monetary prize at the district level. Brinton earned the second place award at $200 and Mullin earned a $100 monetary prize for third place.

High school students interested in the Rotary’s 4 Way Test speech contest for 2026 should contact their local Rotary Club for registration and deadlines.