The Adams Family of International Falls: State Speech Meet

We had an eventful weekend with a trip to Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota where the State Speech tournament was held on Saturday. Rachel drove down with the team on Friday morning and Jeff and I followed Friday afternoon. It was great to see the camaraderie among the teens. Many have known each other for years. As someone commented to me, they were speech bff (best friends forever).

Here are a few photos from the State Speech meet as we were waiting for the list of students who made finals to be posted. It was an agonizing wait. They said they would be posted by 2:15 and at that point only the three categories with draws were posted. The remaining categories weren't posted until 2:35 with the first speeches to be starting at 2:45 all over campus.

By the time they posted the list of those participating in final round the room was packed wall to wall with people. The results were posted on a computer that was projected on a large screen. We all could watch as the guy came up to the computer and loaded the file and opened it and set the parameters. The tension in the room was palpable. Then as each list came up, cheers, clapping, screams of delight or groans of frustration could be heard.

Rachel was excited to be at state. She watched and learned and began gaining experience that will stand her in good stead in future years. She has already begun thinking and planning next year's speech. She is tossing around ideas and keeping her eyes open to possibilities and stories.