On March 7, Reghan Ervin competed in the State American Legion Oratorical Competition hosted by the American Legion Post #444 in Wichita. Ervin earned the ranking that will allow her to compete in the National American Legion Oratorical Competition the weekend of May 16-17. The competition will be held at Hillsdale College located in Hillsdale, Mich. To qualify for state competition, each participant had to place 1st in their District American Legion Oratorical Competition. Prior to the district competition, each contestant had to place 1st at the local level.
An individual is eligible to participate in the American Legion High School Oratorical Scholarship Program if they are a citizen or a lawful permanent resident of the United States.
Further, all contestants must be bona fide students in high school under the age of 20 years on the date of the national contest.
The prepared oration must be on some aspect of the Constitution of the United States with emphasis on the duties and obligations of a citizen to our government. The prepared oration must be the original effort of each contestant and must not take up less than eight minutes or more than ten minutes for delivery. The contestant must do this from memory.
There is also an assigned topic to test the speaker’s knowledge of the subject, the extent of his or her research, and the ability to discuss the topic as related to the basic principles of government under the Constitution. The topic will be on some phase of the Constitution of the United States.
The assigned topics must take no less than three minutes and must not exceed five minutes for the time of delivery. The 2026 Assigned Topics are Amendment IV, Article III, Article IV, and Article VI.
American Legion Carter Rader #0149 Post and Auxiliary Unit are tremendous supporters of the youth in the Howard community. Ervin would not be able to participate at the national level without the local post. They are to be commended for their efforts.
Ervin is the daughter of Ryan Ervin, of Severy, and Kailee Niday, of Bartlesville, Okla. She is currently a junior at West Elk High School.
(Courtesy photo)
