The TCBA held the preliminary round of the TCBA Law Day Speech Contest for high school students on April 20, 2023, at the Thurston County Courthouse. The topic this year was “Should the court end the Title 42 immigration policy? Explain why or why not” Thank you to our panel of judges, Thurston County Superior Court Judge, the Honorable Christine Schaller, and three TCBA Board of Directors, Marie Docter, Geoff Hulsey, and Melissa Goldmann, for judging the preliminary round. We had five participants this year.
All of the students did an amazing job preparing and presenting their speeches for the preliminary round. Cole Bennett, Meredith Morgan, and Alijah Manzanares advanced to the finals which was held during a West Olympia Rotary Club meeting at Tugboat Annie’s on May 2, 2023.
The West Olympia Rotary Club selected three members from the audience to be judges during the final round. The three finalists did an amazing job presenting their speeches once again. After deliberation by the judges, first place was awarded to Alijah Manzanares, a sophomore at Capital High School, second place was awarded to Meredith Morgan, a junior at Capital High School, and third place was awarded to Cole Bennett, a senior at Olympia High School.
The TCBA presented scholarship money to each finalist ($800 for first place, $600 for second place, and $400 for third place) and the West Olympia Rotary Club presented each of the finalists with a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place plaque.
