Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP
713.276.5500 phone 713.276.5555 fax
Contact: Ray Rivas, 713.276.5508
Media Contact: Laureen Lucas, 713.867.3248 direct
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18thAnnual Gardere MLK Jr. Oratory Competition on Friday Jan. 17, 2014
WHO
The18thAnnualGardere MLK Jr. Oratory Competition will take place at the historic Antioch Missionary Baptist Church of Christ in Downtown Houston on Friday, Jan. 17. Continuing the tradition of honoring the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy, fourth- and fifth-grade students from Houston ISD will deliver original speeches between three to five minutes answering the question: “If Dr. King were speaking at a March on Washington today, what would he say?” The event is free and open to the public.Students representing 24 Houston ISD schools participate in the school-wide competitions held Oct. 12 – Nov. 28. One student from each of the participating schoolsis selected to advance to the preliminary round held on Jan. 10 at Thompson Elementary School. Of those 24, 12 students will continue on to the final competition. Criteria for judging include delivery, stage presence and decorum, content interpretation, and memorization at all three competition levels.
Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP continues to host and sponsorthe 2014 competition which includes participants from the following elementary schools: Anderson, Atherton, Bruce,Burrus, Cornelius, Crespo, Dodson, Garden Villas, Golfcrest, Gregg, Gross,Lockhart,MacGregor, Park Place, Pleasantville, Port Houston, Rodriguez, Sutton, Thompson, Valley West, Wainwright, Whidby, Windsor Village and Woodson.
WHAT
The 18thAnnualGardere MLK Jr. Oratory Competition will kick off the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekendto encourage the community to pay tribute to and carry on the late civil rights leader’s legacy. The firm established the competition in Dallas in 1993 to highlight the cultural diversity of the community as well as to cultivate writing and speaking skills of elementary school students. The event is also held Dallas in partnership with Dallas ISD on the same day.
WHEN & WHERE
18thAnnual Gardere MLK Jr. Oratory Final Competition
Antioch Missionary Baptist Church of Christ
500 Clay Street, Houston, TX 77002
Friday, Jan. 17, 2014
10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Event is free and open to the public.
ABOUT GARDERE WYNNE SEWELL LLP
Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP,an Am Law 200 firm founded in 1909 and one of the Southwest's largest full-service law firms, has offices in Austin, Dallas, Houston and Mexico City.Gardere provides legal services to private and public companies and individuals in areas of corporate, private equity, litigation, energy, international, tax, real estate, financial services, government affairs, hospitality, intellectual property, labor and employment, and environmental.
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