Kathrine Alderman
ECB Publishing, Inc.
For many people, getting up and speaking in front of others is quite a task, it can be hard to muster up the courage and express your beliefs in front of a crowd sometimes. But that is precisely what Esther Fulford did at the recent Florida Farm Bureau's Youth Speech Contest, winning first place in the county and third place at districts.
The Florida Farm Bureau's Youth Speech Contest is held each year and is sponsored by the Florida Farm Bureau Federation's Women's Leadership Program with three levels: county, district, and state. The purpose of the contest is to promote a stronger interest and clearer understanding of the many aspects of agriculture; to provide opportunities for youth to gain knowledge, appreciation and understanding of agriculture and to promote agriculture's many values and virtues. The contest is open to any student who is at least 14 years old and not over 18. This year, the question they asked the participants to speak on was, “What are three major challenges that you feel Florida agriculture is facing?” The speeches had to be five minutes in length, give or take thirty seconds, and the speakers couldn't use any visual aids. After the speeches are given, each judge individually ranks the participants, and then the rankings are averaged to determine final placing.
Esther Fulford, a 17-year-old student at Aucilla Christian Academy, decided to participate in the contest for a few reasons. Firstly, she knows a lot of people at the Farm Bureau, and her dad is a multi-generational farmer, “so it was, like, 'of course I'll do it,'” Fulford said. The other reason she decided to do it is that she just knows a lot about the problems farmers face, and she wants more people to know about them as well. One day, Fulford hopes to run for a high political office in the state. It's one of the reasons she developed her speech skill and decided to enter this contest.
The three challenges facing Florida that Fulford decided to talk about in her speech were the economic changes brought about by COVID-19, the consolidation of lands into fewer hands and the extreme weather facing Florida recently. Using these points, she developed a speech that helped her win first place in the county and third place for the whole district.
Fulford accomplished something amazing at this contest. Writing and giving a speech is a lot of hard work, and it takes dedication and a belief in what you are speaking on. This most likely won't be the last thing we'll hear about this talented youth speaker.
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