Foundation Youth Speech Contest held at FFA State Convention

The Montana Farm Bureau Foundation is holding its annual Youth Speech Contest during the Montana FFA State Convention, March 22-25, in Great Falls.

One of the Foundation’s most important goals is to help with agricultural education and the leadership development of Montana’s youth. The MFB Youth Speech Contest is open to students who are not able to participate in the State FFA Prepared Speech Contest. The actual competition will take place Thursday, March 23, from 8 to 11 a.m.

The speech topic: Put yourself in the shoes of a local House or Senate candidate running for office in the Montana Legislature. Please prepare your 2.5 to 4-minute campaign speech indicating your top priorities for serving agriculture and rural Montana if elected.

MFB Foundation Speech Contest rules are:

• Open to students in the seventh, eighth or ninth grade.

• Between 2.5 and 4 minutes long.

• FFA members, 4-H members and any other students in Montana are eligible to compete. 

• Prizes: First place, $400; second place, $300; third place, $200; fourth place, $100, and fifth [lace, $50.

• Registration and a copy of the speech must be received by the Montana Farm Bureau Federation office by March 1, 2017.

  “This speech contest fits FFA’s leadership development goal very well, and we are offering great prizes to make this an exciting opportunity,” said MFB Foundation Coordinator Scott Kulbeck. “We know that FFA has similar contests for high school students and we want to complement, rather than compete, with those contests. The speeches will be judged prior to the FFA State Convention, with the top 20 contestants invited to compete during the convention.”

Kulbeck said the Foundation is not looking for a “politicized” or party-line speech for this contest.

“Outside of party politics, work done by Montana legislators has a huge impact on agriculture in our state,” he said. “The more future leaders understand about the legislative process, the better our industry will be served in years to come. We hope that Youth Speech Contest competitors will take a point of view that service in the state legislature is an important and noble undertaking.”

For more information, official rules or for a registration form, people can contact Scott Kulbeck at [email protected] or 406-587-3153.