Six area high school students showed off their speech skills Wednesday during the annual Carbon County Oratorical Competition, held at Penn's Peak in Jim Thorpe.

The event has been held for over 40 years.This year's winners were Josiah Behrens, an 11th grade student at Jim Thorpe, who spoke about his experiences with theater and dreams of becoming an actor; and Jenna Haydt, an 11th grade student at Palmerton, who spoke about outlooks on life after reading the book "Looking for Alaska" and learning her diagnosis of a degenerative joint disease.Other competitors included Noah Easterly and Briana Picht, both of Panther Valley; Dakota Strohl of Palmerton; and Samantha Hartz of Weatherly.Bonnie Tavella, moderator for the event and oratory adviser in Palmerton Area High School, explained the competition is a way to showcase the talents of the students.The students were able to choose any topic they like for their speech. Topics ranged from the benefits of legalizing medical marijuana; how to steal an elephant, working toward becoming an actor, outlooks on life, the creation of a country and fitness and positive thinking.They were judged on the choice of subject, structure and style of the speech, their bodily and vocal expressions, ability to stay within the eight minute time limit and personal qualities. This year's judges included Audrey Mathison and Jane Bedell, retired teachers from Parkland High School.In addition, each student was coached by a school adviser, who helped in the preparation of the speeches. This year's advisers included Tavella; Christine Rosenberger of Jim Thorpe; Barbara Sipler of Weatherly and Krystle-Dawn Willing-Tiedeman of Panther Valley.The Carbon County Oratory Competition has a long history in the area schools. It began as the Carbon County Principal's Association Oratory Contest and was held at Blue Ridge TV-13 studios before moving to Penn's Peak.The competition was filmed by TV-13 and will be aired. Check local listings for air times.