The Washington Post Praises Gardere MLK Jr. Oratory Competition Champions in Dallas and Houston

The Washington Post featured the Gardere MLK Jr. Oratory Competition in its Inspired Life section of the digital publication, commenting on the Dallas first-place winner’s speech, “If 9-year-old Wesley Trent Stoker was nervous when he took the stage Friday at the 26th Annual Gardere Martin Luther King Jr. Oratory Competition in Dallas, he didn’t show it.”

The publication also highlighted the runner-up, “Skye Turner, a fourth-grade student at Charles Rice Learning Center — whom Wesley had deemed ‘very tough competition’ — placed second in the Dallas competition.”

Of the Houston champion, the reporter writes, “With an eloquence beyond her years, Tchanori [Kone] said her dream was to eliminate poverty through political action.” The reporter also mentioned Caleb Kiteka, the second-place winner of the Houston competition.

“The energy these students exhibited today was remarkable, exciting to watch and very inspiring,” Gardere chief executive Claude Treece said in a statement published in The Washington Post. “I’ve been chairing this event in Houston since its inception 22 years ago, and I’m still amazed by the talent, insight and creativity the participants display each year.”

The entire article is available here.