Rotary Honors Speech, Music, Visual Arts Contest Winners
Rotary Club of Lakewood and Rocky River Four-Way Test Speech Contest winners are (from left) Taylor Heckel, second place; Nicholas Cleary, first place; and Gabby Murray, third place.
Winners of Rotary’s annual Speech, Music, and Visual Arts Contest were honored at an awards ceremony April 9 at the Beck Center for the Arts.
Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Lakewood and Rocky River, the competition annually showcases the incredible talents of students attending one of five high schools – Lakewood, Lutheran West, Magnificat, Rocky River, and St. Edward.
Speech contest first place winner is Nicholas Cleary. Also honored were Taylor Heckel, second place, and Gabby Murray, third place. All three students were from Lakewood High School.
Speech contest finals were at the Rotary club’s March 26 meeting. Speeches must be of original content and be based on “The Four-Way Test of Rotary” which asks, “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?”
This is the 73rd year for the club’s speech competition.
Music contest first place winner is Angeliki Cintron, flute, Rocky River, performing “Flute Fantaisie” by Hue. Hannah Cogar, Lakewood, voice, placed second, performing “Gia il Sole dal gange” by Scarlatti. Emily Erhardt, Lakewood, flute, placed third, performing “Sonate pour Flute et Piano” by Poulenc.
Honorable mentions were awarded to Grace Cooper, Lakewood, string bass, performing “Sonata 1, Movement 1 & 4” by Vivaldi, and Dan Tomazin, Rocky River, French horn, performing “Third Horn Concerto” by Mozart. The music competition follows the judging standards set by the Ohio Music Education Association.
Visual arts winners were Elyza Mihalski, first place, Lakewood, “My Sisters,” oil on canvas; painting; second place, Mikah Inak, Lakewood, “Deep Cleaning,” watercolor and colored pencil; and third place, Chloe Becker, Magnificat, “Hello, Yellow Dress,” oil on canvas.
Honorable mentions went to Phoebe Dunn, Rocky River, “Rhea,” colored pencil; Riley Geyer, Lakewood, “Love Notes in Concrete Sky,” printmaking/gel; and Andrew Lewis, St. Edward, “Temptation Tea,” clay.
Over 90 pieces, of numerous styles employing various media, were submitted by all five schools. A jury of artists selected outstanding works of art that met the contest requirements. From this gallery, judges chose the award winners. The selected entries were displayed in the Jean Bulicek Galleria at the Beck Center.
“This annual event is a wonderful way to acknowledge the talents of our youth,” stated Ed Gallagher, Beck Center director of education, “and the quality work of the participants truly shows that the arts and creativity are alive and well in our community.” This is the twenty-first year that the Beck Center has collaborated with the Rotary club for this competition.
All winners received congratulations and prize money from Rotarian and master of ceremonies Charles Eversole. Sponsor support for the event was provided by FFL Investments Services at First Federal of Lakewood.