Linda Mitchell Wins First Place With Hope Speech

"Hope is powerful.  Hope can sustain us.  Our hope for the future can be forged in the crucible of our past.  If we study history, we will realize that wars do not last forever, enemies become allies, injustices are rectified, barbarism is replaced by humanitarianism, and weak economies can once again soar.  Without a doubt, leaders will emerge to help us sort through the morass of mankind’s messes.  Therefore, we can all express some sliver of hope.  Mankind has made it through many challenging times, and even while looking at our past from a purely secular perspective, I believe history is our bridge to hope." 

Linda Mitchell wrote and delivered those words in a speech that won first place at the Toastmasters International Speech Contest in Fairview Heights, Illinois on Saturday, February 23, 2012.  Linda is a member of the O'Fallon, Illinois Toastmaster Club #994.  She was inspired to write the speech after hearing all the gloom and doom in the news about the economy and world affairs.  To view the entire text, click here.