Harrison AR Rotary - Rotary Speech Contest

The Annual 4-Way Test Speech Contest was held at the Club meeting on January 15th. Students from six area high schools participated. The winner will go on to represent our club at the regional contest held in March.

Competing in this year’s contest were Taylor Hern, the daughter of Jackie and Bud Hern from Alpena High School; Amanda Simon, the daughter of Dan and Kathy Simon from Bergman, John Stancell, the son of Mats and Trudy Nord, from Harrison High School; Samantha Moreau, the daughter of Robert and Brenda Moreau from Lead Hill; Ellie Iske, the daughter of Marianne and Ron Iske from Omaha; and Chase Curtis, the son of Brent and Carla Curtis from Valley Springs. Rotarian Susan Sangren was the coordinator of this year’s competition.

Chase Curtis was the winner of this year’s event. He is seeking a career in the military, and is Congressman Boozman’s Appointee to the Air Force or Naval Academy. He participates on the tennis, golf, and track teams at Valley Springs High School.

Second place went to Ellie Iske of Omaha High School. She intends to pursue a career in the mission field, with a business management focus. Her current plan is to attend Southwestern Baptist University. She is engaged in FCCLS, FBLA, BETA, track, softball, and Skills USA activities in school. She enjoys riding horses, shopping, and leading groups.

Our third place finalist was Amanda Simon from Bergman High School. She is interested in pursuing a career in agriculture, and plans to attend NAC and later the University of Arkansas. At school she is active in FFA, 4-H, and softball. When not showing livestock, she enjoys clogging.

From the earliest days of the organization, Rotarians were concerned with promoting high ethical standards in their professional lives. One of the world's most widely printed and quoted statements of business ethics is The Four-Way Test, which was created in 1932 by Rotarian Herbert J. Taylor (who later served as RI president) when he was asked to take charge of a company that was facing bankruptcy.

This 24-word test for employees to follow in their business and professional lives became the guide for sales, production, advertising, and all relations with dealers and customers, and the survival of the company is credited to this simple philosophy. Adopted by Rotary in 1943, The Four-Way Test has been translated into more than a hundred languages and published in thousands of ways. It asks the following four questions:

"Of the things we think, say or do:

Is it the TRUTH?
Is it FAIR to all concerned?
Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?"