Fox Freshman Hailey Helmke received first place and a check for $1,000. From left to right: Ardmore Arbuckle Sunrise Rotary Club President Kelly Murphy Fryer, Rotrary District Governor Conni Eckstein and Hailey Helmke. Photo Credit: Drew Butler/The ArdmoreiteFox Freshman Hailey Helmke received first place and a check for $1,000. From left to right: Ardmore Arbuckle Sunrise Rotary Club President Kelly Murphy Fryer, Rotrary District Governor Conni Eckstein and Hailey Helmke. Photo Credit: Drew Butler/The Ardmoreite News. 
On Saturday, March 4, the Ardmore Arbuckle Sunrise Rotary Club hosted the district competition for the Rotary Four-Way Speech Contest at SouthernTech. Eight high school students from across the district which stretches from Norman to the border and from Altus to Durant participated in the competition.
Students were asked to apply the Rotary Four-Way Test to the topic of their choice and craft a speech around its four tenants. These being: 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.
Fox Freshman Hailey Helmke came in first place and received $1,000 for her speech which covered the misconceptions many people have about the agricultural industry. Helmke, a member of FFA, is passionate about the topic.
“So many people even at livestock shows will come up to me and say things like ‘I hope you treat your animals well’ or ‘I’m glad that you actually take care of them,’” Helmke said. “People will say things like that all they time, and they don’t understand that we farmers and agriculturalists love these animals and care for them.”
Helmke first began competitive speaking about two years ago as part of FFA.
“I like speaking and using my voice to promote agriculture,” she said. “It’s really honed my skills and has allowed me to get my ideas across to a variety of people.”
Helmke will go on to give her speech at the District Rotary Convention to be held at the National Weather Service in Norman on April 15. She will also go on the state competition with the opportunity to advance to the national competition.
Sunrise Rotary Club Member Melanie Blackburn said this is the first time they have hosted such a competition in several years.
“Every year we have a Four-Way speech contest, but we haven’t been holding one local or in person in quite a while because of COVID,” Blackburn said. “We started holding it virtually, so it has kind of dwindled away.
“This year our district got excited about getting things going again, so two weeks ago we had our local competition that we held in conjunction with the noon club. Today we’re hosting the district.”
Sunrise Rotary Club President Kelly Murphy Fryer said they plan to continue hosting the contest in the coming years and hope to involve more students.
“Next year we’re hoping to double the prize money and get more students in the contest,” Fryer said. “This morning I sat in and listed to these kids, and it was amazing the number of topics covered and they amount of energy they put into their speech. The teachers also like it because it really helps the speech and debate teams along with the FFA. It gives them another opportunity to practice their stuff.”