Lions Club Student Speaker Contest

The Tehachapi Lions Club held the 80th Annual Student Speaker Contest at the club level on Feb. 16 at the Tehachapi SENIOR CENTER. The topic this year is "Is the Right to Privacy a Threat to our National Security?" Lion Eva Hebebrand was the contest chairman.

The two contestants this year were Annie Walker and Danika Hipp. Walker is a senior at Heritage Oaks Christian Academy and Hipp is a senior at Tehachapi High School. Contest judges were Harriet Clendenin, Lorrie O'Brien, Pastor Robert Brooks and Robert Lyles. Both contestants gave outstanding speeches.

Danika Hipp won the contest and now advances to competition at the zone level where she will compete against students from Boron, California City and Ridgecrest.

The contest is administered and funded by the Lions Fourth District Student Speakers Foundation, Inc., a California nonprofit corporation. This year the Foundation will provide scholarships totaling $103,500. From this amount, each of the fifteen district winners will receive a $4,500 scholarship, each of the four area winners will receive an additional $6,500 scholarship and the winner of the Multiple District Four Contest will receive an additional $10,000 scholarship. The final winner will receive a total scholarship of $21,000.

Each district winner will also have competed in contests at the Club, Zone and Region Level, winning cash awards at each level. The Tehachapi Lions are cheering for Danika as she advances to the Zone B Contest in Ridgecrest on March 11. To find out more about this contest, visit the Tehachapi Lions Club Facebook page or the club's website at e-clubhouse.org/sites/tehachapi/