Four Way Test Speech & Essay Contests

These Four-Way Test Speech & Essay Contests are ONLY for students that live within Rotary District 7390! Rotary D7390 encompasses Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry and York Counties in South Central PA. If you DO NOT live within one of these counties in South Central PA, you CANNOT participate in our Contests! Click here to find a Rotary Club in your Area!

One of the world’s most widely printed and quoted statements of ethics is The 4 Way Test, which was created in 1932 by Rotarian Herbert J. Taylor. Adopted by Rotary in 1943, The 4 Way Test has been translated into more than a hundred languages and published in thousands of ways. It asks the following four questions of the things we think, say and do.

Interested in the SPEECH Contest? Look to the LEFT!

Interested in the ESSAY Contest? Look to the RIGHT!

The 2024-2025 Rotary Four Way Test Speech Contest is underway! The Mid-Level Competition will be held Saturday, March 22, 2025 at Central Penn College (600 Valley Road, Summerdale). You MUST attend the in-person mid-level competition to move to the finals! Mid-level contestants will be notified by March 25 if they are moving on to the finals. The finals will be held Saturday, April 5, 2025 at 2:00 p.m. at the Hershey Lodge (325 University Drive, Hershey). If you are selected to attend the Finals, YOU MUST attend.

Students are tasked to choose their own topic as the center for their speech and then apply the four principles of the Four-Way Test. That is the prompt for 2024-2025!

How the Rotary District 7390 Four-Way Test Speech Contest Works

Contestants must currently be in attendance (in either grade 10, 11 or 12) at a public or private high school, charter school or home schooled within Rotary District 7390 (Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry or York County). No student may be a contestant in more than one club contest in any one year. Nothing in our rules prohibits clubs from developing their own procedures, requirements, and/or guidelines for their contest. Contestant Entry Forms must be submitted before participation. Prizes at the finals will be $1250 for the winner, $750 for 2nd place, $500 for 3rd place, and then $250 each for 4th & 5th place.

Click here to register!

Registration Deadline: March 7, 2025

ONLY Complete this Registration Form if you are the winner of the Club Level Speech Contest!

The Mid-Level Contest will be held Saturday, March 22, 2025 at Central Penn College (600 Valley Road, Summerdale) in the ATEC Building Rooms 200/202. The Mid-Levels will be held from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 Noon. If you place in the top 5, you will be required to attend the finals on Saturday, April 5 at 2:00 p.m. at the Hershey Lodge.

NOTE FOR CLUBS - Only ONE student per school District may participate in the Mid-Level Competition! And, If the 1st place finisher from any club or school district is unable to attend the mid level competition then the runner up is permitted to attend the mid level.

The Mid-Level Competition will be held Saturday, March 22, 2025 at Central Penn College (600 Valley Road, Summerdale). You MUST attend the in-person mid-level competition to move to the finals! Mid-level contestants will be notified by March 25 if they are moving on to the finals. The finals will be held Saturday, April 5, 2025 at 2:00 p.m. at the Hershey Lodge (325 University Drive, Hershey). If you are selected to attend the Finals, YOU MUST attend.

Student Information

Four-Way Test History

Judges Score Sheet

Timekeepers Sheet

Speech Contest Manual

Please contact District Chair

Mike Handshew

mrhandshew@gmail.com

717-585-9724

WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?

In 1932, Herbert Taylor, a Rotarian from Chicago, penned the Four – Way Test as a guiding principle in his efforts to rescue a near-bankrupt aluminum company from complete financial collapse. He succeeded in his task and ever since that time Rotarians across the world have adopted Mr. Taylor’s Four Way Test as one of Rotary’s core values.

While you may not be confronted with rescuing a failing business, we are interested in reading an essay about how the 4-Way Test can impact challenges and situations you may face in your everyday life.

Students are tasked to choose their own topic as the center for their essay and then apply the four principles of the 4Way Test. That is the prompt for 2024-2025!

ADMINISTRATIVE INSTRUCTIONS

Eligibility: Ninth Grade Students.

Due Date: Participating Clubs must submit essays to the District Office for consideration in the District Contest no later than March 7, 2025. Rotary Clubs will set a date that Essays are due from the Students.

Format: The essay should be submitted in .pdf format and suitable for printing on 8.5 x 11.0 paper. The text should be double spaced in 12-point font (Arial or Times New Roman are preferred). Do not insert identifying information such as a name or school on any sheet except the cover sheet. Do not insert graphics.

Number of Copies: Essays (with cover sheet) should be e-mailed to the Rotary District 7390 Office - office@rotary7390.org. Club chairs without e-mail capability should mail their winning essay to the district office.

Essay Length: The essay must not exceed 1500 words in length.

Cover Sheet: A cover sheet must be attached to each essay. See the attached format for the Cover Sheet. Click here for a fillable PDF cover sheet.

Original Work: The essay must be the original work of the student submitting the essay for competition. Team writing, parental participation, and the use of works written by other sources, even if foot-noted, is not authorized. Participating students will sign a pledge on the Cover Sheet stating that the essay is their original work.

QUESTIONS?

Four-Way Test Essay Contest Chair:

Steve Grubb

Tel(Cell): (717) 576-8145

E-mail: stevengrubb@comcast.net

First Place - Spencer Yang (Red Lion/Dallastown)

Second Place - Owen Wolfe (Elizabethtown)

Third Place - Kayla Saba (Myerstown ELCO)

First Place - Edwina Caulker (Hershey)

Second Place - Emma Parsons (Eastern Lancaster County)

Third Place - Hannah Theodore (York-North)

First Place - Meagan Rottet (Elizabethtown)

Second Place - Isabella Badolato (Myerstown-ELCO)

Third Place - Alfred J. Nazeeri (Palmyra)

2024-25 Rules & Information for Rotarians

ESSAY Submission Form