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.  The 2021-2022 topic is “Staying Optimistic in challenging times”.   

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.  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 Forsyth Optimist club is coordinating a specific school, click here

School Coordinators should be aware of the following dates:
– Monday, February 7, 2022 – provide count of all students that participated in the Oratorical
– Wednesday, February 16, 2022 – Middle and High School winner’s application and copy of birth certificate must be emailed to Josh Kellam.

All contests for our club (Sawnee-Cumming Optimist Club) will be held virtually by Zoom Invitation beginning at 6:00 pm (contestants should sign in no later than arrive by 5:30 pm):

– Monday, March 7 (Elementary Semi Finals)
– Monday, March 14(Elementary Finals)
– Thursday, March 10 (Middle/High Semi Finals)
– Thursday, March 17 (Middle/High Finals)

Gateway District Winner submissions due March 18th per Club

Oratorical Luncheon plans are still being discussed based on Covid-19 Guidelines and we will not be able to use Northside Hospital Forsyth Bennet Education room this year. Date is TBD

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 28th and winner submitted to Gateway District Advancement.

The Area contest must be completed by April 18th and winner submitted to Gateway District Advancement .

District Contest: will be held at the 3rd Quarter Conference April 23, 2022 – 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 TBD, 2022.  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

2021 Championship in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd followed by Regional Winners.

• Nayana Xavier (Capital Virginia District) Mid-Atlantic Regional Winner $5,000 & 1st Place World Winner $15,000 Sponsor Club: 16026 Central Fairfax, VA
• Julia Abbott (Pacific Southwest District) West Coast Regional Winner $5,000 & 2nd Place World Winner $10,000 Sponsor Club: 14654 Pacific Palisades, CA
• Corinne Quynh Lan Marie Hoang (Eastern Ontario District) St. Lawrence Regional Winner $5,000 & 3rd Place World Winner $5,000 Sponsor Club: 49914 Kanata 2007, ON
• Lauren Menke (Ohio District) Northeast & Great Lakes Regional Winner $5,000 Sponsor Club: 24224 Kettering-Noon, OH
• Ellen Joseph (Dakota, Manitoba, Minnesota District) Great Plains Regional Winner $5,000 Sponsor Club : 35001 Brandon Valley, SD
• Sara Abernathy (GATEway District) Southeast Regional Winner $5,000 Sponsor Club: 21250 Rome-Noon, GA
• Abram Marrett (Caribbean District) Southwest & Caribbean Regional Winner $5,000 Sponsor Club: 78458 North St. Andrew, JA
• Maria Yakubovich (Kansas District) Middle America Regional Winner $5,000 Sponsor Club: 37155 Wichita-North, KS
• Eileen Kim (South Korea) Global Region Regional Winner $5,000

The Oratorical Chairs are:

• Joyce Mullins nancyjoyce.mullins@gmail.com
• Josh Kellam josh.kellam@syf.com

You may leave a message for them at our club voicemail – 678.685.9886.

© Copyright 2021 – Sawnee-Cumming Optimist Club