On March 28, 2026, two Northeastern Conference students, along with family, friends, and other well-wishers, gathered at the Mount Vernon Seventh-day Adventist Church, to witness the oratory skills of Adriel Zoundi, age 14 of the Ephesus Seventh-day Adventist Church and Aneelia Mitchelle, age 16 of the Mount Vernon Seventh-day Adventist Church for the Annual Speech & Oratorical Contest sponsored by The Edward D. Herndon Legacy Foundation, Inc. The host for the evening was Joanne Thompson.

Before the contestants took the stage, Future Orator, Xolani Registe, age 7, presented a speech from memory entitled “Dreams” by Langston Hughes. The two contestants had prepared for weeks, not only composing and fine-tuning their speeches but also committing their words to memory. The five judges, Vivian Lee Phillips, Randolph Young, Maryam Hunter, Donna Bell, and U. Nkechi Nwachukwu, used a rubric to evaluate the orators’ diction, knowledge of the topic, poise, timing, and persuasiveness, and listened and watched intently as each contestant delivered their speech.

From a list of approved topics, Adriel spoke about financial literacy, and Aneelia spoke about social media. Both orators confidently commanded the stage and captivated the audience. Like both of their names, the two were certainly “A” students. The judges had their work cut out for them during deliberations. Both students had excelled. Both students were top-notch. Something unprecedented had to be done – both students would be declared deserving of the First-Place prize of $500 each. They were also awarded Certificates of Leadership. The audience, in agreement, erupted into rousing applause at the announcement of the judges’ decision. Future Orator Xolani Registe was awarded a $100 prize and presented with a Certificate of Leadership.

Congratulations to all!