The North Carolina 2024 Oratorical competition season begins. On January 6, 2024, at North Brunswick High School, John E. Jacobs American Legion Post 68 sponsored the local competition to qualify for the District 9 Oratorical Contest.

Members of the North Brunswick High School staff and faculty assisted Post 68 during this process. The local students competed for a chance to progress to the state competition and to receive scholarship awards. Our winner was Valeria Alvarado, a junior at NBHS. She went on to participate in the District 9 Oratorical Contest on Saturday, January 20.

The annual Oratorical Contest is conducted as part of the American Legion national program. The event consists of high school students delivering prepared speeches on any aspect of the U.S. Constitution and the responsibilities of citizens regarding that aspect of the Constitution. Each student also delivers a short speech on one of four predefined parts of the Constitution. The specific part to be addressed is randomly drawn during the contest. The purpose of the event is to promote understanding of the Constitution and help develop public speaking skills for students.