Division II oratorical contest winners

On Saturday, 24 February, the Division II American Legion Oratorical Contest
took place at the St. James Community Center hosted by St. James Post 543. The event
began with Commander Phillip McGhee and Division II Commander Dale Smith
welcoming families and guests. Commander Smith noted the importance of the
event in developing character in youth and thanked the parents for inspiring their
children to participate in the Oratorical Program. Division II chair Jim Hilty
presided over the contest, saying in his opening remarks: “This event is a
celebration of our steadfast faith in the shared values of our civic culture, of our
abiding trust in the ideals we call the American Creed, and of our profound esteem
for the exceptional character of our nation’s Founding documents that distinguish
us as Americans. It is a time to hear from our youth, our hope for the future.”
Noah Snyder, a Mars Hill Classical Academy student, representing Burton-Cowell
Post 265 from Jacksonville, NC placed first while the Richard H. Stewart, Jr. Post
543 contestant Connor Walls, from South Brunswick High School, finished in 2nd
place. Noah’s oration “A Patriot’s Duty: Article V,” focused on that Article of the
Constitution concerning how to amend the Constitution, while Connor spoke on
“Regulation in America,” citing various forms of government regulation, tracing
back to the first use of the “commerce clause” and going forward to stringent
regulation of agriculture during the Great Depression and New Deal. Noah will
now go on to the State competition in Carey, NC on March 23rd . Following the
state competition in March the national contest will be held in April at Hillsdale
University in Michigan.