Rancho Santa Fe Rotary’s noon meeting on April 22 featured not just one, but SIX speakers, as the club played host to the District Finals of the 2026 4-Way Test Speech Competition.
A capacity audience of Rotarians, students, family members and District notables listened intently to the students as each explained in 5-7 minutes how a topic of their choice measures up to the Rotary Four-Way Test. Evaluation and scoring was provided by an august panel consisting of PDG Don Fipps, PDG Dianne Crawford, and DGE Jeb Bakke.
At the end, DG Luis Carranza presented the winner’s check of $1000 to Danielle Dee, sponsored by the Carlsbad Hi-Noon club. Danielle’s topic was the value and importance of Teachers, who often have to work a second job to make ends meet and to afford to purchase the extra supplies they need. With her win, Danielle sets an unbeatable mark: 4 consecutive appearances in District Finals 2023-26, and a championship. Second Place and $750 went to James Perez-McElroy from the Rancho Bernardo Sunrise Club, who spoke about how a patchwork of laws and regulations has impacted public access to a basic human need – clean water. The four students receiving $500 Distinguished Finalist award checks were Zaysia King-Boyd (Del Mar), Alexander Palma (San Diego), Joyce Natasha (San Diego), and Kayla Le (San Diego).
The finalists qualified by finishing first or second in contests at the school, club, subregional, and regional levels earlier this year, earning an additional several hundred dollars on the way to District Finals. Congratulations to all our student speakers!
If you have any questions or would you like to learn more? Contact your local Rotary club for information or see the Rotary Four-Way Test Speech Contest link on the District 5340 Youth Services page.