Preparations are underway at American Legion Harney County Post 63 for the 2022 American Legion High School Oratorical Scholarship Program — “A Constitutional Speech Contest.”

The purpose of the contest is to develop a deeper knowledge and appreciation of the Constitution of the United States among high school students (grades 9-12). 

Other objectives of the contest include the development of leadership qualities, the ability to think and speak clearly, and the preparation for acceptance of the duties and responsibilities, rights, and privileges of American citizenship. 

Participants must give two orations: the prepared oration and the assigned topic. 

The subject to be used for the prepared oration portion of the contest must be on some aspect of the Constitution of the United States with emphasis on the duties and obligations of a citizen to our government. 

The prepared oration must be the original effort of each contestant and must not take up less than eight minutes or more than 10 minutes for delivery.

The assigned topic oration tests the speaker’s knowledge of the subject, the extent of his/her research, and the ability to discuss the topic as related to the basic principles of government under the Constitution. Four assigned topics are determined each year by National Oratorical program officials. At each contest, one of the four topics is selected and used for that competition. 

The assigned topic must take no less than three minutes and must not exceed five minutes of time for delivery. 

Post 63 invites high school students to participate in the local American Legion High School Oratorical Contest Jan. 18, 2022, in Burns.

Students must certify their participation to the Post no later than Jan. 1, 2022. The Post contest winner earns the opportunity to compete in the district contest and may advance to the state and national contests. 

Scholarships are rewarded at each contest. For information regarding The American Legion Oratorical Program, teachers, parents, and students may contact Post 63 Oratorical Chairman Charles Schmidt at (541) 589-5853. 

Additional information is available at www.legion.org and www.orlegion.org.