Bentonville native Randy Franco, president of the NorthWest Arkansas Community College Speech and Debate Team, has qualified for the 2014 Interstate Oratory Association National Championship, according to a news release put out today.
He won second place overall in the state of Arkansas at the Southern Forensics Championship Tournament held Jan. 31-Feb. 2 at William Carey University in Hattiesburg, Miss.
“For nearly 150 years, Interstate Oratory has taken only the top two students from each state to compete for title of top orator, and all students at the competition have their speeches published in the journal ‘Winning Orations.’ Franco is the first student from NWACC to earn a bid to this prestigious tournament, which will be held April 25-26 at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va.,” the release stated.
