L-R Front: Seventh grader Morgan Gill, eighth grader Hayley Sanders, sixth grader J.R. Insular, Rotary Club of Conyers President Dotti Bala
Middle: Clerk of Courts Ruth Wilson, Davis Middle School teachers Lisa Tompkins and Stacy Arick, School Board Member Heather Duncan
Back: School Board Member Katrina McCollum-Young, Chief Academic Officer Shirley Chesser

The Rotary Club of Conyers heard the winning speeches delivered by the first place winners of the annual Rockdale County Middle School Oratorical Competition held November 5, 2016. The winners for the sixth, seventh and eighth grades are all from Davis Middle School this year. Sixth grade speaker J.R. Insular spoke on The Right to Trial by Jury. Seventh grader Morgan Gill addressed The Role of the U.S. in the World. The eighth grade speaker, Hayley Sanders, made a case for Why We Need Informed Voters.

All three have received cash prizes of $500 each and stated they have started their college savings funds. The Club also recognized the contributions of Lisa Tompkins and Stacy Arick, the two teachers who coached the students. Each received a $75 Class Room Grant for their discretionary use in their class rooms.

The Rockdale County Middle School Oratorical Competition is an annual academic enrichment program produced and funded by the collaborative efforts of Rockdale County Public Schools, Clerk of Courts Ruth Wilson, Lexicon Technologies, Evans Tool and Die, Snapping Shoals EMC and the Rotary Club of Conyers.

Seated L-R: State Court Judge Nancy Bills, Dr. Toni Alvarado, Vicki Judd Esq.
Standing L-R: Magistrate Judge Garland Moore, Educational Consultant Maria Brown, Superior Court; Judge Robert Mumford; Voice-over artist Maria VonDickersohn, Journalist Jay Jones, Clerk of Court; Ruth Wilson; Conyers Middle School Principal Allison Barbour