Lions sponsor public speaking contest

Although the Belize-Guatemala referendum has been postponed until sometime in the future, the Belmopan Lions Club believes the topic is still very pertinent. That’s why the organization has centered on the proposals for its seventh annual National Public Speaking Contest tomorrow night. Seven sixth form students from around the country will debate the theme “The Belize-Guatemala Proposals: A Final and Definitive Solution?” The candidates will have seven minutes to speak on a sub-theme related to the proposals, after which they will be expected to answer questions from the judges. The students are Carla Gibson from Corozal Junior College; Osner Balam from Orange Walk’s Muffles Junior College; Geovanni Brackett from Saint John’s Junior College; Mary Gonzalez of San Pedro Junior College; Savita Torres of Sacred Heart Junior College in San Ignacio; Sherlette Lopez from U.B.’s Belmopan sixth form; and Tony Aguirre from Stann Creek Ecumenical Junior College.

The winner walks away with the Prime Minister’s prize, which is a full two-year scholarship toward a bachelor’s degree at U.B., worth twenty thousand dollars. Second prize is a fully-loaded personal computer and color printer worth over twenty-five hundred dollars, while the third place finisher takes home a thousand dollars cash. Friday evening’s debate, which coincides with the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Belmopan Lions Club, begins at six-thirty at the Belmopan Civic Centre.