Channeling the theme of “Imagine Rotary,” Hopkinsville’s Carly Chadouin and Princeton’s Isabella Burton each delivered intelligent, infectious, empowering speeches during Tuesday afternoon’s District 6710 Regional competition — hosted by the Hopkinsville Rotary Club at the War Memorial Building.
Five local judges, unaffiliated with the speakers, tabbed Burton for the next round — awarding her a $500 scholarship and the chance for more if things go well at this weekend’s state competition in Bowling Green.
A 15-year-old freshman of Bluegrass Christian Academy Homeschool, she doesn’t have to decide her next step just yet.
An effective public speaker, she does know she’s interested in politics. And she worked for months on her 6-minute, 46-second message.
Burton painted a picture of a world without Rotary, one where international, regional and local issues — be it women’s health, natural disasters, diseases and/or famine — take control of a community, run rampant and negatively impact the future of humanity.
She particularly connected listeners to Princeton’s Rotary activity in response to the December 10, 2021 tornadoes, which rumbled through Cayce, Mayfield, Caldwell County and Dawson Springs before rolling on to Bremen and Taylor County.
This is her third speech contest, all in the name of Rotary, and she closed with the organization’s main tenants as food for thought about the future:
Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build good will and better friendships? And will it be beneficial to all concerned?
Chadouin, meanwhile, graduates from Hopkinsville High School in three weeks. She is attending the Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio, where she plans to spend two years studying theology before moving into ministry, education or non-profit research.
Finishing in second place regionally, she earned a $300 scholarship behind a message of “imagination,” and how leaders in Rotary can make student’s dreams a reality.
The five judges who served: Tammy Hyde of the West Kentucky Workforce Board, Brent Gilkey of Pennyrile Electric, and a trio of retired educators in Martha Schrecker, Sarah Byars and Trevor Hooks.
Burton’s words:
Chadouin’s words:
