47th annual 4-H/Tropicana student speaking competition opens Saturday

Manatee County public and private schools will send their top speakers to the 47th Annual 4-H/Tropicana public speaking competition starting at 9 a.m. Saturday.

Speakers in the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades will represent elementary and middle schools at the Manatee County Agricultural Center in Palmetto.

Sixth-graders open competition followed by the fourth/fifth grade semifinals at noon and the fourth/fifth final competition around 2:30 p.m.

Previous winners will be on hand. The 4-H/Tropicana Public Speaking Program began in Manatee County by Inez Pettigrew of Palm View Elementary School in 1952. In 1969, Tropicana and 4-H joined forces to offer this program to all elementary and middle schools in Manatee County. The program is available throughout Florida now.

This story was originally published May 19, 2016 at 10:10 PM with the headline "47th annual 4-H/Tropicana student speaking competition opens Saturday."