Students at St. Louis School in Nokomis recently competed in a speech contest sponsored by Modern Woodmen of America. Shown here in the front row are third-place winner Marie Beasley, first-place winner Abby Beaty, and second-place winner Kate Ginnard. In the back row are the contest judges, Ed Ovca, JoAnn Keele, and Joyce Knodle.

NOKOMIS - On Feb. 5, students in grades five through eight from St. Louis School in Nokomis took part in a speech contest sponsored by Modern Woodmen of America, a national provider of fraternal financial services and programs.

Students competing in the contest, which was held in the school library, shared their presentations on this year's topic, "Greatest American Landmarks."

The winners were first place, Abby Beaty; second place, Kate Ginnard; and third place, Marie Beasley. Each of them received a trophy and gold award pin, and their names will be engraved on the school's speech contest plaque. Gold award pins were also given to the next seven ranking finalists: Samantha Voils, Alexis Hoehn, Griffen Sanders, Heather DeWerff, Haily Neisler, Luc Maretti, and Allison Clavin. All participants received certificates of participation for their hard work.

Serving as judges for the contest were Joyce Knodle, JoAnn Keele, and Ed Ovca.

Modern Woodmen's School Speech Contest is one of six free youth educational programs Modern Woodmen offers to schools nationwide. Nearly 100,000 students compete in the contest each year. Founded in 1883 as a fraternal benefit society, today Modern Woodmen of America offers financial services and fraternal member benefits to individuals and families throughout the United States.