Matrix Foundation Launches National Public Speaking Competition

Entry Deadline: May 30, 2004

The Matrix Foundation, the charitable arm of The Association for Women in Communications, has launched the Edith M. Wortman Annual Matrix Foundation National Public Speaking Competition. The purpose of the competition is to encourage women to stand up and be heard, with speeches centering on topics related to the First Amendment. For entry information, visit the Matrix Foundation website at http://www.matrixfoundation.us.

This national public speaking competition has been established to honor an outstanding communicator. As a community and state leader, Edith M. Wortman was a fierce advocate for freedom of speech. Not only was she an award-winning public speaker, she was an artist, a teacher, and a business owner. Wortman was named Rapid City, South Dakota Woman of the Year in 1970; as a humanitarian and civic leader, Wortman worked with the Human Rights Commission to help develop leadership for the Lakota Sioux tribal women; as South Dakota State President of the Federated Women’s Clubs of America, in 1970 she developed a fundraising campaign which resulted in the establishment of the $550,000 art gallery and auditorium on the campus of South Dakota State University.

The competition will be conducted through The Association for Women in Communications’ fifty professional chapters nationwide. The winner of each individual chapter competition will represent their chapters in the national competition. The video-taped speeches may be no longer than ten minutes and must include the written text of the speech and bibliographic documentation for outside sources. The deadline for submissions is May 30, 2004

Winning speeches will be presented at The Association for Women in Communications’ Annual Professional Conference to be held in Charlotte, North Carolina, October 6-9, 2004. Prizes will be awarded to the national winners: $500 for first prize, $300 for second place winner, and $200 for the third place winner. Speech submissions become the property of the Matrix Foundation, and copies will be sold for fundraising purposes.

The Matrix Foundation, founded in 1997, is a 501[c]3 organization. The mission of the Matrix Foundation is to promote the advancement of women in the communications profession by providing funds for education, research and publications.