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Carroll Squadron Cadet Wins First Place in Region Speak-Off Competition

C/A1C Edwards displays the plaque he won at the Middle East Region Cadet Speak-Off competition. Airman Edwards won first place in the Basic category.

By 2d Lt Steven H. Solomon
MDWG/Deputy PAO
Posted October 28, 2003

Three cadet members representing the Maryland Wing of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) received awards at the Middle East Region cadet speech competition called Speak-off, according to an announcement by Maj. Tori Kyler Steinmeier, director of cadet programs for the wing.

Cadet Airman First Class Glen Edwards, 12, of Finksburg, Md., from the Carroll Composite Squadron in Westminster, placed first in the basic category for prepared 3-5-minute speeches, and later presented his speech a second time at the region's conference banquet.

Cadet Maj. Carl Bevard, 17, of Huntingtown, Md., from St. Mary's Composite Squadron in St. Mary's Leonardtown, placed third in the impromptu category, which gave him 30 seconds to prepare a 2-minute speech in answer to a question he was asked on the spot.

Cadet Capt. Jacob F. Weiser, 17, of Ijamsville, Md., from the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Composite Squadron in Gaithersburg, Md., placed third in the advanced category for preparing a 5-7-minute speech.

"If you love to hear people share their opinion, this competition was for you," Steinmeier said. "They did an outstanding job."

Prior to the region competition, cadets participated in the Maryland Wing's cadet speech competition at wing headquarters, which was judged by Lt. Col. William Duke of Pasadena, Md., senior adviser to the wing's Cadet Advisory Council and wing historian; and Senior Member John Thomas of Catonsville, Md., a member of the Ft. McHenry Composite Squadron in Catonsville, Md.

Activities offered to cadets in Maryland include a glider academy, solo pilot school, annual encampment, band, and color guard. There are currently 755 cadets in the Maryland Wing.

CAP, the official Air Force Auxiliary, is a nonprofit organization with more than 63,000 members nationwide. It performs 95 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center. Volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and counterdrug missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members take a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to the almost 27,000 young people currently participating in CAP cadet programs. For information, visit the Maryland Wing Civil Air Patrol online at http://mdwg.cap.gov.