Fall Speech Contest winners take the crowd by a storm and preludes to the Men of Honor recognition

Fall Speech Contest winners take the crowd by a storm and preludes to the Men of Honor recognition

Back row: Jamil Rivers, Commissioner Moss, Willie Neal Dent, Jr., Chief James Wright,

Reginald Fox, Maceo Pickett, Dr. Robert Malone, Jr., Marvin Davis, Saul Dauphin; front row: Chief James Wright, William Thomas Gilmore, Darryl L. Ward, Raymond Hicks, Dr. Timothy Tyler, not pictured: Don Medina; Frank Robinson, Jr., director, NASA; Lance A. Williams, director, Richmond Perrine Optimist Academy and Cory Witherspoon, vice president, Jackson Memorial Hospital.

By Tiffany Willis-Gilmore

MIAMI, FL — S.O.W. Network held its Speech Contest and Men of Honor event at Christ Fellowship, (high school room) 8900 S.W. 168 St., Palmetto Bay, Fla.  on Oct. 24, 2015.

The event was sponsored by the Florida Department of Health – Miami Dade County Students Working Against Tobacco (SWAT) and the Pre-Engineering Society 4 Youth. The event was hosted by the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Gamma Zeta Omega ASCEND. The emcee for the event was Sharon Grant.

Students competed in the categories of: Why is smoking hazardous to young people? What can be done to stop the high crime rates in our nation? Who is your hero and why? First Place winners of the contest were: Kirby Gilmore, 10th grade, Coral Reef Senior High (A.S.C.E.N.D.); Mishar Campbell, 11th grade, William H. Turner Technical Arts High School (Breakthrough Miami-College Bound) and Edward Leonard, 11th grade, New World School of the Arts (Sigma Beta Club).

This year featured a new category, the Speak Off” round, where select students wrote a speech on site and presented on stage together. The “Speak Off” round held a cash prize of $250 and/or savings bond of $500 to be selected by the winner.

As with all SOW Network Speech contests, it is about how you place in the contest; everyone is a winner and all receive trophies.

One of the most heartfelt presentations, the Men of Honor recognition followed the contest.  Men from the tri-county area were highlighted for their accomplishments in the areas of activism, education, mentoring, family and community in the lives of African Americans.

The honorees were: Saul Dauphin, Legal Analyst; Marvin Davis, Financial Analyst; Willie Neal Dent, Jr., Retired Law Enforcement Professional/Athlete; Reginald Fox, Educator; Raymond Hicks, Retired, Homeland Security Professional; Dr. Robert Malone, Jr., Activist/Radio Host; Maceo Pickett, Intelligence Analyst Supervisor; Jamil Rivers, Director of Media and Communications; Commissioner Moss; Dr. Timothy Tyler, Research and Development, Director; Darryl L. Ward, Sports Coach and Chief James Wright, Independent Law Enforcement Specialist.

The Honorees for this year further touched the crowd during the Open Mic session where family and friends were able to give additional sentiments about their accomplishments and goals in the community.  There existed a positive energy and synergy among the honorees.

S.O.W. Network (formerly IYMS, Inc.) is an all-encompassing motivational agency in Miami, Fla.  The agency, established in 1993, has trained thousands of individuals around the globe.  S.O.W. Network, Inc. offers annual speech contests, public speaking academies and Jr. toast clubs to develop youth speakers.  (sownetwork.webstarts.com) Contact phone: (786)268-WORD (9673).