Summary of the Oratorical Program:

The Oratorical Program is a function of the American Legions’ “Americanism Pillar”. The Oratorical Program is a constitutional speech contest for high school students and it offers scholarships upwards of $25,000. The contest has a prepared oration and an assigned topic which is assigned the day of the contest. The prepared oration must be on some aspect of the Constitution, with emphasis on a citizen’s duties and obligations to our government. The same subject and oration used in the department contest must be used in the national contest. The purpose of the assigned topic discourse is to test the speaker’s knowledge of the subject, the extent of his or her research, and the ability to discuss the topic as related to the basic principles of government under the Constitution.

A Champion is Crowned!

1st Place – Guhan Krishnan – District 4

The American Legion Department of Ohio held our annual Department Oratorical Contest on Sunday March 5th at Department Headquarters.
The 2023 Contestants were….
  • Adam Smith, District 1
  • Tyler Rowen, District 2
  • Gabriel Schutte, District 3
  • Guhan Krishnan, District 4
First Place was won by Guhan Krishnan for a scholarship amount of $2,500, and Second Place was won by Adam Smith for a scholarship award of $1,500.
We would like to congratulate all the participants of the 2023 Department Oratorical Contest, as well as thank the judges and volunteers for helping put on a successful contest program.
Good Luck Guhan! Represent Ohio well at the National Oratorical Contest!

 

Since 1938, The American Legion High School Oratorical Scholarship Program has encouraged the nation’s high school students to study the U.S. Constitution and to hone their public speaking skills.

 

2023 State Oratorical Contestants

Oratorical Committee Members

DISTRICT 1
Stan Oren

DISTRICT 2
John McJunkin

DISTRICT 3
Vacant

DISTRICT 4
John Looker (Chairman)

DISTRICT 5
Vacant

DISTRICT 6
Roy Terry

DISTRICT 7
Patricia Dewees

DISTRICT 8
Vacant

DISTRICT 9
Gary Minadeo

DISTRICT 10
Vacant

DISTRICT 11
Richard Johnson

DISTRICT 12
Malcolm Glasgow

DISTRICT 13
Stanley Popek

DISTRICT 14
Vacant

Contest Dates

  • Department Date- Sunday, March 5th, 2023
  • National Date- April 21-23, 2023 [in Indianapolis at the Wyndham Indianapolis West Hotel, 2544 Executive Drive, Indianapolis, IN, 46241, (317) 248-2481]

The American Legion Oratorical Rules brochure for 2023 now is available on the Legion website at https://www.legion.org/oratorical/resources or www.legion.org/publications. The updated Rules brochure contains the assigned topics for 2023, which may also be found at https://www.legion.org/oratorical/topics.

Interested in signing up for the Oratorical Contest?

Fill out the form below, thank you.
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