Speak up

Student among winners of veterans’ competition

Julie Brown, Staff Writer

American Legion Post 251 Chaplain Jack Stange congratulates
Wayne Memorial High School 12th grader/honoree
Julia Givens, as Kerry Hritz, Wayne Memorial Social Science
department chair looks on. 

Julia Givens, a 12th-grader in Kerry Hritz' American Government and Politics class at Wayne Memorial High School, recently was lauded in the Oratorical Contest of the American Legion, Post 251 of Westland.

“She is a wonderful student. She's dedicated, hardworking. She's definitely a leader,” Hritz said.
Givens memorized a series of speeches for the American Legion initiative, focused on the amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
“I'm super proud of her. Just a huge win for Wayne High,” added Hritz of the third-place win by Givens, whose speeches note our U.S. Constitution has the significance of “still being (a) meaningful body.”
It had been 10 years since a student from either Wayne Memorial or John Glenn high school had participated in the Legion Oratorical Contest. Givens will attend Wayne State University to major in Global Studies next year, noted Hritz, Social Science department chair at Wayne Memorial High.

At the Post 251 recent meeting, Melvin Evans of Wayne received
an electric scooter from Cmdr. James Saunders of the
Westland Post 251. Evans served in the U.S. Air Force
during the Korean conflict, and was joined by daughter, Monica Dietz,
at the ceremony.  

Jack Stange, Post 251 chaplain, noted Givens garnered a $250 scholarship for her third-place win, with Post leaders also presenting certificates. Hritz received $50 and a certificate.
“The contest is done every year with contestants talking for 10 minutes on a topic of their choice on the U.S. Constitution,” Stange said. The teens are then given a topic from one of five random amendments to the U.S. Constitution, and speak on that topic for five minutes.
“They cannot have notes,” said Stange. “It's by memory.” Teens don't have to have an affiliation with the U.S. military to participate, added Stange. Judging is performed by American Legion members.
Teen participants start at district level, and then the first-place winners move on to the state contest where a first-place person receives $1,500. The winner of that contest then goes on to the national contest in Indianapolis, where the first-place winner receives an $18,000 scholarship.
Contest information is online at www.legion.org. Stange, a Westland resident and U.S. Air Force veteran, noted his post oratorical contest is also open to local parochial schools such as Lutheran Westland High School as well as the Plymouth-Canton Community Schools district, in the Post 251 area as those communities lack a Legion Post.
Students in grades nine-12 vie in the oratorical contest. The American Legion has other scholarships including: Baseball, Boys State, Legacy Scholarship, Eagle Scout of the Year, and Shooting Sports Scholarship.
At the Post 251 March 4 meeting, Melvin Evans of Wayne received an electric scooter from Cmdr. James Saunders of the Westland Post 251. Evans served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean conflict, and was joined by daughter Monica Dietz at the ceremony.
Evans was discharged as a staff sergeant. Army Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Evans, no relation to Melvin Evans, was honored with a paid-up membership in Post 251. He is an Army recruiter and also received a one-star Blue Star banner for his family to display in a window.
Jeffrey Evans will soon leave for overseas duty..
Westland Post 251 meets monthly, except in July and August, on the first Wednesday of the month at the VFW Hall on Avondale at Wayne Road in Westland. All veterans are welcome to attend.
“We're trying to build up our post,” explained Stange, who is also a Garden City Amateur Radio Club member.
Hritz praised the legion's members for their community involvement “and getting them (students) to be active participants.”
Hritz is excited about her 12th-grade students, including Givens, conducting voter registration efforts, aided by municipal clerks of Romulus, Wayne and Westland.
John Glenn High School has also in the past had student-led voter registration drives, she added, noting teens can register in school as voters at age 17 but must wait to turn 18 to vote.