The West Point Middle School (WPMS) hosted an awards ceremony for the 9th annual WPMS Speech Contest on March 14. This year's topic was, “Our Generation: What Makes Us Special,” and the top three awardees and finalists were honored during the ceremony.
This year, first place was awarded to Ben Read, second place was awarded to Ana Diaz-Benitez, and Lillyne Weber took third place. The speech contest finalists were Dante Garcia, Nora Pfaff and Eve Waite.
Each year, the judges represent the West Point community, the Highland Falls/Fort Montgomery School District, and the West Point Spouses’ Club. Judges this year included Carlys Lemler, The Thayer Hotel manager; Michelle Owens, West Point Spouses’ Club 2023-24 vice president; and Heather Evangelista, Highland Falls Intermediate School teacher.
The trophies were funded through a grant from the West Point Spouses’ Club. The WPMS PTO also contributed gift cards to the winners. This is the fourth and final year that Chad Haley, a James I. O’Neill High School senior, served as the speech contest’s coordinator. Victoria Evangelista assumed the role of contest moderator and will take the lead role as coordinator for next year’s contest. Kerri Hajjar, a WPMS teacher, provided amazing support and assistance in ensuring the success of this year’s competition.
Pictured:
Group photo of awardees and finalists:
Dante Garcia, Eve Waite, Ana Diaz-Benitez, Ben Read, Lillyne Weber and Nora Pfaff.
Group photo with top three awardees and top coordinators of contest:
Chad Haley (Speech Contest organizer), Ana Diaz-Benitez, Ben Read, Lillyne Weber, Victoria Evangelista (moderator) and Ms. Kerri Hajjar (WPMS coordinator).