The next round has12 semi-finalists speaking again to narrow the field to 5 finalists, who present their speeches in the Garvin Theatre before a panel of judges from the community. Judges have included members of the City Council and Board of Supervisors, a Superior Court Judge, the District Attorney, Business and Professional leaders, Community volunteers in philanthropy and civic betterment, Police and Fire Department members, scholars, and others representing a cross-section of Santa Barbara's generous people who support our students. Joseph Tarrer, former News-Press publisher and Bill Downey, reporter, author, and teacher served as judges. The tournament focuses on the student entrants, every one of whom deserves congratulations. As we all know, public speaking ranks high on the list of most dreaded activities.
Numerous surveys indicate that fear of death runs a distant second to fear of talking in public.
Our students are anxiety-ridden too, yet dozens of them muster the courage necessary to compete every year. Most of them have very little experience in public discourse but they tackle the challenge and speak with poise, assurance, and skill. Mrs. Lancaster told us that she wanted the endowment to go to the students for scholarships or cash awards, not to frills, and we comply. Everyone involved in the planning, organization, presentation, and judging, volunteers the necessary effort. All Spring semester public speaking students will be presenting classroom speeches on their selected topics.