Suelflow takes second at county 4H Tropicana Speech Contest
WBMS' Betts second among sixth graders; OBES' Laurent fourth

Vici Papajohn/Gulf Breeze News Awesome orators Students from Gulf Breeze Elementary that competed in the recent Tropicana Speech Contest are (front, from left): Jordan Kirchgessner, Emily Lively, Pierce Broscious, Helena Rivera, Allie Turner, Annemarie Schultz and Griffen Battel. Back row (from left): Connor Crooke, Josh Martin, Taylor Gorder and Kristyn Suelflow.

Kristyn Suelflow, a fifth grader at Gulf Breeze Elementary School, took second place at the recent 4H/Tropicana Public Speaking Contest held at the County Auditorium in Milton.

Suelflow, GBES' fifth grade winner, was the first of 10 participants in the fifth grade category. Her topic was "Save the Sea Turtles."

"(Going first) was a slight disadvantage for all the early speakers since the later ones became more animated with hand motions to keep up with the competition," said her mother Kristy Suelflow.

It was the largest contest group ever for the Fifth Graders according to the Moderator, Vickie Mullins. Speech topics included: Space, Water pollution, Cinco De Mayo, Walt Disney and many more.

"The topics were varied and very interesting," Suelflow said. "I noticed that those who placed in the top four in all categories kept eye contact with the audience and never looked at their notecards."

Afterwards, Suelflow and her classmates in Mrs. Vignes' class, went to Cici's pizza to celebrate.

Each school participating in the 4-H Tropicana Speaking Program conducts a school competition to select a fourth, fifth and sixth grade winner. These winners are eligible to compete in the county wide competition.

Fifth grade participants and winners were: Kristyn Suelflow - second place - Gulf Breeze Elementary and Christopher Laurent - fourth place - Oriole Beach Elementary

Sixth grade participants and winners were: Sarah Betts - second place - Woodlawn Beach Middle and Katherine Farmer - Gulf Breeze Middle

Taylor Gorder was second in GBES' contest, while Connor Crooke and Josh Martin were tied for third. Also participating were Jordan Kirchgessner, Emily Lively, Annemarie Schultz, Griffin Battel, Pierce Broscious, Allie Turner and Helena Rivera.