Stark Reading Contest Winners at Bridge City High School

The 2017 winners of the school-level competition held March 6, 2017 at Bridge City High School (Left to Right): Maggie Garcia: 2nd place, Declamation; Brandon Curl: 1st place, Declamation; Bree Cloud: 1st place, Interpretive Reading; Madison Day: 2nd place, Interpretive Reading.

(ORANGE, Texas) - Bridge City High School students Brandon Curl and Bree Cloud earned first place in Declamation and Interpretive Reading, respectively, at the school-level finals of the 113^th Miriam Lutcher Stark Contest in Reading and Declamation, a scholarship program sponsored by the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation.

On March 6, 2017, Bridge City High School students competed in the local-level contest, which was coordinated by Kathie Dorman, Bridge City High School teacher and school director for the Stark Reading Contest. Curl won first place in Declamation with Elie Wiesel's speech The Perils of Indifference, while Cloud won first place in Interpretive Reading with her presentation of an excerpt from I Stand Here Ironing by Tillie Olson. Second place in Declamation went to Maggie Garcia, with Madison Day receiving second-place honors in Interpretive Reading.

Hope Hill, the second place winner in Declamation from Bridge City High School in last year's contest, served as the emcee for the Bridge City competition. Elisha Bell, Bridge City High School Principal, presented awards to the 2016-17 school-level contest winners.

Each second-place winner was awarded $1,500 in scholarships from the Stark Foundation, while the two first-place winners were awarded $2,000 in scholarships. The first-place winners from Bridge City High School will go on to compete against the first-place winners from other participating Orange County public high schools at the County Final of the Stark Reading Contest, which is scheduled for Sunday, April 23, 2017 at 2:00 p.m. at the Lutcher Theater.

The Stark Reading Contest is sponsored by the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation as part of its continuing mission to enrich the quality of life in the Orange community and encourage education. The aim of the Contest is to enhance the literary and forensic quality and skills of Orange County public high school students. The Contest has continued annually since its inception in 1904, which makes the 2016-17 school year the 113^th annual year of the Contest. In addition to offering educational opportunities and experiences for students at eligible Orange County public high schools, participating students may earn scholarship awards for continued education.