Ruby Schepers Named 2024 Rotary Club of Dubois County Speech Contest Winner

The Rotary Club of Dubois County recently hosted a speech contest for Dubois County High School students and has announced the winner as Ruby (Serenity) Schepers, a senior at Forest Park Jr/Sr High School. Ruby is the daughter of Jamie LeClare and Terry Schepers.

The topic for this year’s speech was: “Create Hope in the World, Beginning with Yourself.”

Rotary International’s President, Gordon R. McInally chose “Create Hope in the World” as the 2023-2024 theme. When announcing the theme, McInally explained that the goal is to restore hope to help the world heal from destructive conflicts and to help achieve lasting change. He emphasized the need for peace and continuity, including work to empower women and work toward diversity, equity, and inclusion, while not neglecting Rotary International’s mission to end polio.

Ruby shared that she had a great time presenting her speech, and hopes to have the opportunity to present it to other Rotarians in the future. “My favorite part of the speech was my introduction,” said Ruby. “I like giving my audience something to imagine and include them.” Ruby’s speech started with her saying ‘Imagine a little sparrow. A little sparrow in a golden wire cage. A little sparrow in a golden wire cage sitting on a tall, skinny table.’ Ruby caught the attention of the panel of judges, and as the winner, Ruby received a $150 cash prize. She will advance to the Rotary District 6580 virtual speech contest. The prizes at the District level are 1st place - $1,000, 2nd place - $500, 3rd place - $250. The winner of the District contest will also be invited to present at the Rotary District 6580 Conference in Evansville in April.

“Ruby presented a wonderful and thought-provoking speech,” said Jim McFaul, one of the Rotarian Speech Contest judges. “She will be a great representative for Dubois County for the District competition.”

The mission of Rotary International is to provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through its fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders. The Rotary Club of Dubois County is an active social and service club comprised of dynamic and diverse professionals who make a lasting difference in our community and around the world.

If you have any interest in joining the Rotary Club of Dubois County, send an email to [email protected] or send them a message via their social media channels.