The 45-year-old Carbon County Oratorical Competition took place at Penn's Peak on Tuesday morning where thecompetition consisted of four girls and three boys from Panther Valley, Weatherly, Jim Thorpe and Palmerton high schools.

Next year the contest will see new school competitors added to the lineup. The Carbon Career & Technical Institute students sat around a table and observed the speech writing and delivery."They've never been a part of the competition before, and we'd like them to be a part of it since they are a Carbon school," said Bonnie Tavella, an event coordinator and Palmerton adviser. "It's not an easy competition.""We're looking for a speech that just has that spark," said judge and retired Parkland teacher Audrey Mathison.Mathison has been reviewing participants' words for the past five years."It's a learned skill."First-time judge and retired Brandywine Heights of Berks County educator Jane McAndrew agreed.Students worked with school advisers to fine-tune their presentations. This year's advisers included Tavella, Christine Rosenberger of Jim Thorpe, Barbara Sipler of Weatherly and Rick Morgans of Panther Valley. All seven speakers took home a plaque for their hard work with the two winners taking home a trophy and bragging rights. Students chose numbered index cards at the top of the event to find out the speaking order.Huntre Keip, a Panther Valley senior, drew number one. Keip is a veteran of the process."I did it last year," she said. Keip spoke about immigration and the importance of racial equality."I enjoy public speaking and expressing my opinion."Jillian Bartel, a sophomore at Weatherly, is no stranger to speaking in front of a crowd. The student was named as 2016 Miss Greater Hazleton Outstanding Teen."I wrote about pageants and the positive effects they have on girls versus the stereotypes."Jim Thorpe Sophomore Regin Carroll spoke about vegan versus vegetarian."Vegetarians are healthy, but animals still get killed that are of no use to the farmer."Overcoming jitters as a first-time orator, Carroll said, "Being around people that are my age helps a lot."Palmerton junior Lauren Fegely said she became involved in the contest after seeing her friend compete last year."I decided it was something cool to do and wanted to try it." Fegely spoke to the audience about failure and how it ultimately can lead to success. Fegely took home the win for the female side.The three boys competing were Jim Thorpe sophomore Christian Gould, Panther Valley junior Joseph Stawiarski and Palmerton junior Jacob Taylor. Weatherly did not have a male representative this year."I came up with my topic because of my daily life and how I see other people," Stawiarski said of his speech. Focusing on setting goals and accomplishing them was his subject."Why not go out and figure out what you want to do with your life," he said to the audience.Taylor focused on the literary world and laid out parallels between Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451" and the current technological times. "It's not too late to turn society around."Gould beat the other two speeches with his subject of photography."It changed world history," he said while giving a brief rundown of how pictures came into being."The subject matter is one of the things we all look forward to," Tavella said."We are so proud of the students. It's quite a challenge to speak in front of people. Just watching them shine after all that time practicing is really rewarding," said Jim Thorpe adviser Christine Rosenberger.The Carbon County Oratory Contest had previously been hosted at Blue Ridge TV-13 studios before moving to Penn's Peak five years ago.