Bulze makes historic Public Speaking win for JP Eustace

by Eldonte Samuel

While millions were still engaged in the US Presidential elections, six students from six secondary schools in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) were battling on Tuesday, November 5, 2024 to see who would be the winner of this year’s Lions Club South Public Speaking Competition.

Winning it for the first year since a name change to the institution was the Dr J.P Eustace Memorial School’s Rahj Bulze.

The form 5 student won the best speech in the student-prepared and impromptu rounds before a packed and appreciative audience at the Methodist Church Hall.
In the student-prepared speech, Bulze spoke about ‘Youth Violence’, and in the impromptu round, he selected the topic ‘Developing Talents and Abilities’.

For winning the competition, Bulze copped the coveted Lion, Michael Defreitas MJF Challenge Trophy, along with a $4000 scholarship, and a Samsung Galaxy smartphone from the telecommunications company and competition sponsor, Flow.
The students were prepared for three rounds of competition. Their first speech was on the main topic, ‘Our world is in a state of confusion as it tries to reconcile one’s inalienable rights, civil liberties, religious beliefs, and the role of the State.’ This was followed by the student prepared speech; and the competition concluded with the highly anticipated impromptu round.

Alexander Cummings of the St Martin’s Secondary School, won in the main speech category, and was adjudged third in the competition overall.

Cummings received from Flow a $3000 scholarship and a Samsung Galaxy smartphone.

Samarah Lynch from the Mountain View Adventist Academy took second place in the competition. She spoke about ‘Vincy Van Culture’ in her student-prepared speech. This topic has become a common one during this segment of the competition; the school has had more than one student presenting on this topic within the last five years.
Lynch was the recipient of a scholarship valued at $1000 and a Samsung Galaxy smartphone from FLOW.

The other finalists in this year’s competition were Macy Baptiste from the Sandy Bay Secondary School; Kyra Johnson from the North Union Secondary School; and Jaheem Primus from the St Vincent Grammar School, which was last year’s public speaking champion.

The competitors and audience also heard addresses from President of Lions Club St Vincent South, Janeil George; Senior Education Officer in the Ministry of Education, Mavis Findlay-Joseph; and FLOW Country Manager, Wayne Hull, who shared information of the company reconnecting persons back onto their network in communities across the islands after the passage of Hurricane Beryl on July 1.