On May 22, 2014, students from Missouri competed in a state/regional speech contest sponsored by Modern Woodmen of America, a fraternal financial services organization.
Prior to the contest, the students had already won first, second or third place in their local and county/district competitions. They shared their presentations on this year's topic, The Importance of Healthy Living.
The state/regional winner was Averi Muniz, a 6th grade student from DeSoto, MO. Averi was a $100 cash award and a trophy, and her school will also receive an engraved trophy. She will advance to the national competition.
The second place winner was Maisie Hall, a 7th grade student from Portageville. She won a $75 cash award and a trophy. Third place went to Maddilyn Hardin, a 5th grade student from DeSoto. She received a $50 cash award and a trophy.
Modern Woodmen's School Speech Contest is one of many free Youth Educational Programs Modern Woodmen offers to schools nationwide. More than 100,000 students compete in the contest each year.
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 stockholders- members, their families and their communities. This is accomplished through social, charitable and volunteer activities. Annually, Modern Woodmen and its members provide nearly $24 million and 1 million volunteer hours for community projects nationwide.