April 12, 2011

Tyms wins 2011 Smith-Merritt Public Speaking Contest

2011 Smith Merritt winners

Photo Gallery

A sophomore from Dolton, Illinois is the winner of the 2011 Smith-Merritt Public Speaking Contest, conducted by the Eastern Illinois University Department of Communication Studies.

Darnell Tyms of Dolton took first place in the persuasive speaking contest.  Joslynn Northrop of Byron finished 2nd and Bailey Hassell of North Aurora took home 3rd place.  Other speakers who qualified for the final round were Sherell Cannon of Cahokia, Emma Knepp of Morton, and Cody Vaughn of Paris.

The contest was open to EIU students who were enrolled in Intro to Speech Communication (CMN 1310 or 1390) during the Fall 2010 Semester or the Spring 2011 Semester.  First prize was $500 plus a certificate.  The second place speaker received $300 and a certificate, while 3rd place was awarded $100 plus a certificate.

The contest is sponsored by and named in honor of Dr. Calvin Smith and Dr. Floyd Merritt, who are both emeritus faculty in the Department of Communication Studies.

The top three finishers are pictured (left to right):  Joslynn Northrop, Bailey Hassell, Darnell Tyms.

Previous Winners of Smith-Merritt Public Speaking Contest:

1993:  Aleka Karachalios

1994:  Dana Taylor

1995:  Dawn Huddleston

1996:  Shelly Ng

1997:  Sandra Zumbahlen

1998:  Lisa Shumard

1999:  Amanda Zuber

2000:  Jessica Shields

2002:  Gabriel Holmes

2003:  Megan Smith

2004:  Danielle Blackburn

2005:  Shannon Inboden

2006:  Nicole Barber

2007:  Emily Immel

2008:  Emily Steele

2009:  Tim Aberle

2011:  Darnell Tyms