The Joys of Judging the 2010 NRLC Oratory Contest

By Dave Andrusko

Ordinarily I am so busy at the annual NRLC convention that I beg off when people are kind enough to ask if I would like to be a judge at the NRLC Oratory Contest. But this year--well, no way I was going to miss the chance.

My wife, who edits the NRLC Yearbook, routinely is a judge. Lisa reminded me how much fun it was the time we both were judges, although at different times.

Elisabeth Trisler, winner of the 2009 NRLC Oratory Contest

I suspect that part of the reason I volunteered is how much I enjoyed being a very small participant in a sister activity. We've run the 1st, second, and third place finishers in the NRLC Pro-Life Essay contest (for both junior high and senior high youth) in Today's News & Views. The essays of both 1st place winners appear in the June/July issue of National Right to Life News. These kids are very talented, and our readers wrote to say how highly impressed they were by all six winners.

The orators are every bit as gifted. Their gifts combine style and substance. We are privileged each year to hear the winner deliver his or her speech at the convention's closing banquet.

I remember last year's winner-- Elisabeth Trisler--who did an extraordinary job. However, later, in a fit of pique the pro-abortion Ohio House Speaker refuse to allow Trisler on the House floor to accept a legislative resolution honoring her accomplishment as the National Right to Life Oratory Contest winner.

Cooler heads later prevailed (even the ACLU saw the patent unfairness), the House Speaker reversed his stand, and Trisler came in to receive the resolution. (You can read her speech at http://www.scribd.com/doc/26637639/ETrislers-2009-Oratory-Contest-Speech.)

These are wonderful pro-life kids. If you come to the convention, please be sure to come to the banquet and hear the winner.