News and Events
2004 World Champion of Public Speaking
 MISSION
VIEJO, CA – It was the World Series of public
speaking, the Olympics of oratory, the final bout for the
heavyweight title of “World Champion of Public Speaking.”
Who would win? Recently, a crowd of 1,600 Toastmasters from
around the world gathered in Reno, Nevada, to cheer for their
favorite speaker at the Toastmasters International Speech
Contest.
Randy Harvey, 51, a one-year member of Toastmasters
from Sherwood, Oregon, emerged victorious and claimed the
title of 2004 World Champion of Public Speaking. His speech,
“Lessons from Fat Dad,” described how his father
taught him “how to be a loving man – a good father
and husband.” His seven-minute speech was both funny
and profound, and as Harvey said afterward, “My speech
had a tremendous message. I knew that regardless of the outcome,
people would be blessed by me giving it.”
Harvey, the father of three adult children, is the Director
of Human Resources for the Tigard-Tualitin School District.
Winning the speech contest was the step he needed to reach
his goal of becoming a professional public speaker. A second-year
law student at Concordia University, Harvey plans to combine
public speaking with his career and future emphasis on labor
relations and contract law.
The speech contest culminated Toastmasters International’s
four-day annual convention, held August 18-21, 2004, at the
Reno Hilton in Reno, Nevada. A panel of 18 Toastmasters judges
evaluated the nine contestants, who had advanced to the finals
following a year-long process of elimination, using club,
area and regional speech competitions. Criteria used in judging
included speech content, organization, voice quality and gestures.
Second- and third-place winners in the World Championship
of Public Speaking were Douglas Kruger of Gauteng, South Africa,
and James Webb of Casselberry, Florida. |
