The two Forsyth County Optimist Clubs are honored to conduct an annual oratorical contest.  This program is offered to all Forsyth County students in grades 5 through 12. Students create and present a speech based on a specific topic. Topic for the 2022-2023 school year is: “Discovering the Optimism within Me ”

For sometime our program has been the largest Optimist Oratorical in the world.  A Forsyth County winner, Charlie Dougal, from our 2015-2016 contest went on to win the zone, area and district (GA and TN) contests and competed in the regional contest.  2016-2017 saw another Forsyth County winner, Vinayak Menon of Riverwatch Middle School advance to the regional contest.  In 2022 our Forsyth County Student Samiksha Gaherwar won 1st place at the World Champions with a scholarship of $15,000 and the World Regional Champions for another $5,000. We are grateful to the parents, school coordinators and principals for their participation and support in helping us bringing out the best in our kids. Here is last years winner from our Gateway District:

To view which of the two Forsyth County Optimist club is coordinating a specific school, please open the Oratorical Principal Letter attached for 2023/ blue link below

School Coordinators should be aware of the following dates and locations:

All contests this year will be held in the Academies of Creative Education in the Media Center
on the Third Floor. Address is 1160 Dahlonega Highway, Cumming, Ga. 30040. The building is
just past the new FoCAL building.

2022-2023 Oratorical Principal Letter

– Friday, February 3, 2023 – turn in participates and School winners name, birth certificate and information as soon as your contest is complete, but no later than 2/22/23
– Wednesday, February 15, 2023 – Middle and High School winner’s application and copy of birth certificate must be emailed to Carolynn Martin.

All contests for our club (Sawnee-Cumming Optimist Club) will be held February 27 – March 9 (contestants should sign in no later than 5:30 pm)

– Monday, February 27 (Elementary Semi Finals)
– Monday, March 6 (Elementary Finals)
– Wednesday, March 1 (Middle/High Semi Finals)
– Thursday, March 9 (Middle/High Finals)

Contact: Carolynn Martin carolynncmartin@gmail.com 770-402-8689

All contests for the morning club (Forsyth County Optimist Club) will be held February 28 – March 9 (contestants should sign in no later than 5:30 pm)

– Tuesday, February 28 (Elementary Semi Finals)
– Tuesday, March 7 (Elementary Finals)
– Thursday, March 2 (Middle/High Semi Finals)
– Thursday, March 9 (Middle/High Finals)

Contact: Joyce Mullins nancyjoyce.mullins@gmail.com 678-570-7002

Gateway District Winner submissions due Date will be after March 2nd final Oratorical Contest is completed for each Club.

The two Middle/High School Forsyth County winners will each receive $500 and advance to the Zone contest.  The Zone Contest must be completed by March 24, 2023 and winner submitted to Gateway District Advancement.

The Area contest must be completed by April 8, 2023 and winner submitted to Gateway District Advancement .

District Contest: will be held at the 3rd Quarter Conference April 22, 2023 – the three winners will be awarded scholarships of $2,500, $1,500 and $1,000 respectively for first, second and third place.

The Regional and International World Championship contests will be held at St. Louis University in St. Louis, MO on July 2-5, 2023.  The Optimist International World Championship winners will receive scholarships in the amounts of $15,000, $10,000, and $5,000 to the first, second, and third place winners, respectively.

World Championship winner will receive a $15,000

2022 Championship in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd followed by Regional Winners.

• Samiksha Gaherwar Southeast Regional Winner $5,000 & 1st Place World Winner $15,000/ Lambert High School
• Rin Choi Global Regional Winner $5,000 & 2nd Place World Winner $10,000
• Maeva Giroux Optimiste Francophone Canadien Winner $5,000 & 3rd Place World Winner $5,000
• Maryam Al-Sabawi Northeast & Great Lakes Regional Winner $5,000
• Zafina Zaman Great Plains Regional Winner $5,000
• Mukta Dharmapurikar Mid-Atlantic Regional Winner $5,000
• AdyLynn Anderson ) Southwest Regional Winner $5,000
• Abigail Richner Middle America Regional Winner $5,000
• Amrutha Challa West Coast Regional Winner $5,000

The Oratorical Chairs are:

• Carolynn Martin CarolynnCMartin@gmail.com 770-402-8689
• Monica Hawkins

You may leave a message for them at our club voicemail – 770-402-8689.

© Copyright 2022 – Sawnee-Cumming Optimist Club