The final round of the first annual Martin Luther King Jr. Oratory Competition was held on the evening of Thursday, January 16, 2014 at New Mount Zion Baptist Church in Orangeburg.  The competition began during the fall with preliminary competitions being conducted in each of the eight elementary schools in Orangeburg Consolidated School District Five (OCSD5) to select the eight finalists.  The competition was open to fourth and fifth grade students who were required to present an original speech of up to five minutes on the topic: In celebration of the 50 year anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, what is your dream for a better society?
    The winners of the Martin Luther King  Jr. Oratory Competition were:  Joshua Richberg, Mellichamp Elementary School – 1st Place; Aliyah Busby, Rivelon Elementary School – 2nd Place; Anna-Lee Bonner, Brookdale Elementary School – 3rd Place;     Amelia Nhkata, Whittaker Elementary School - Finalist;     Sion Durant, Dover Elementary School - Finalist;     Tayla Starks, Marshall Elementary School - Finalist;     Jazmine Wilson, Sheridan Elementary School - Finalist; Kailyn Mack, Bethune-Bowman Elementary School – Finalist.
    Toyota of Orangeburg was the sponsor for the event.  Thanks to the generous support of our sponsor, trophies and certificates were awarded to all of the participants as well as special prizes for the top three places including: 1st Place – Windows Surface Tablet, 2nd Place – iPad Mini, and 3rd Place – Kindle Fire.
    Video highlights of the MLK Jr. Oratory Competition will soon be added to the rotation of OCSD5’s educational programming on Time Warner Cable Channel 12 and the OCSD5 website.