Six others receive honorable mentions
Rock Island, Ill. - Three students from across the country were awarded first, second and third place at the national level of Modern Woodmen of America's 2014 School Speech Contest. Six others received honorable mentions.
Chloe Thurlow, an eighth-grade student at Reeds Brook Middle School in Hampden, Maine, was awarded first place. Jaye Carvelli, an eighth-grade student at Lumberport Middle School in Lumberport, West Virginia, was awarded second place and James Thiriot, a fifth-grade student at E. Melvin Honeycutt Elementary School in Fayetteville, North Carolina, placed third.
First-, second- and third-place winners of the fraternal financial services organization's annual contest earn a $2,000, $1,500 or $1,000 savings plan and two award plaques - one for the recipient and one for the school. Modern Woodmen financial representatives sponsor the local contests.
Teresa Collins, New York, New York; Hanna McCaw, Andrews, North Carolina; Daniel Denenberg, Omaha, Nebraska; Katie Jensen, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Remy Arroyo, Anaheim, California; and Abigail Zindars, Mukwonago, Wisconsin, received an honorable mention in the contest.
The topic for this year's nationwide contest was "the importance of healthy living." Modern Woodmen asked all student speakers to consider how maintaining a healthy lifestyle is important for individuals, communities or the nation as a whole.
The School Speech Contest, one of six youth educational programs sponsored by Modern Woodmen, is provided to schools across the country at no charge. For more than 60 years, students have gained confidence and improved their communication skills by participating in this contest. More than 100,000 young people competed in 2013, of which 23 advanced to the national judging in June.
As a tax-exempt fraternal benefit society, Modern Woodmen sells life insurance, annuity and investment products not to benefit stockholders but to improve the quality of life of its stakeholders - members, their families and their communities. This is accomplished through social, charitable and volunteer activities. In 2013, Modern Woodmen and its members provided more than $20 million and more than 507,600 volunteer hours for community projects nationwide.
To learn more about Modern Woodmen and its free youth educational programs, visit www.modern-woodmen.org.
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