Winners of Rotary’s Four-Way Speech Contest, and the annual music and visual arts competitions, were honored at a gala event at the Beck Center on April 14.

Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Lakewood and Rocky River, the contest annually highlights the incredible talents of students attending one of five high schools – Lakewood, Lutheran West, Magnificat, Rocky River, and St. Edward.

Speech contest first place winner was Alessio Matera from Lakewood High School with a speech entitled, “Trump 2.0.” Avani Sabharwal from Magnificat High School earned second place with a speech entitled, “The Dangers of American Isolationism.” Both students represented the club at the Rotary district 6630 competition on April 12.

Placing third was Delaney Starr, “The Box,” and fourth was Mel Diemert, “Title Generated By AI.” Both are from Lakewood High School.

peeches must be of original content and be based on “The Four-Way Test of Rotary” which asks, “Is it the truth, Is it fair to all concerned, Will it build goodwill and better friendships, and Will it be beneficial to all concerned?”

Beck Center for the Arts in Lakewood has been a valued partner of Rotary for this event, serving as the liaison to educators at the high schools and providing the venue and judges for various phases of the competitions.

This is the 80th year for the club’s speech competition, and the twenty-eighth year that the Beck Center has collaborated with the Rotary club for these student competitions.

Music contest first place winner from Lakewood High School was Danka Wentzel performing “Introduction, Theme and Variations” by Gioachino Rossini on clarinet. Second place was tenor Max Lucic, Rocky River High School, performing, “Come raggio di sol” by Antonio Caldara. Placing third was tenor Drew Wallen, performing, “Gia il sole dal gange” by Alessandro Scarlatti.

Honorable mentions went to Rebekah Douglas, Rocky River, French horn, Mozart’s “Romanze from Horn Concerto no. 3;” Bryce Sandoval, Lakewood, soprano, Tchaikovsky’s “Variations on a Rococo Theme - Theme to Variation 3;” and Caroline van Raalten, Rocky River, soprano, Mozart’s “Das Veilchen.”

Visual arts winners were Flint Slankard, Rocky River High School, “Birds in Flight,” charcoal on paper, first place; Molly Keane, Lakewood High School, “Odontophobia,” pencil and marker, second place; Jackson Dancy, St. Edward High School, “Coil Pot,” ceramic, third place.

Honorable mention winners were Mae Reese, Magnificat High School, “Untitled #1,” acrylic; Helen Fraunfelder, Lakewood High School, “self-portrait,” acrylic paint; and Sebastian Shafer, Lakewood High School, “Blood Bath,” digital camera Nikon D500 + 70-200 f/2.8.

Over 100 art pieces of a range of styles and media were submitted. A jury of visual arts educators selected outstanding works that met the contest requirements. From this gallery, the judges chose the award winners. The exhibition was displayed in the Jean Bulicek Galleria.

In recognition of their achievements, all winners received a cash prize from Rotary, made possible by the Lakewood-Rocky River Rotary Foundation.