
The prestigious E. Wayne Cooley Sweepstakes Award was presented to Decorah High School at the recent Iowa High School Speech Association (IHSSA) All-State Large Group Speech Festival at Iowa State Center in Ames.
The award was given to the school with the most entries performing at the Feb. 22 All-State Festival. Decorah High School previously earned the recognition in 2002 and 2005.
133 Iowa high schools had groups selected as “Outstanding All-Staters” at the 50th anniversary of the All-State Large Group Festival. Approximately 24,000 students started at the district level from 484 school memberships, and approximately 2000 students earned the right to be named as Outstanding All-State Nominees.
DHS speech students are coached by Molly Holkesvik, Gabriel Twedt, Carrie Kauffman, Lyra McKnight, Kristen Underwood, and Johanna Bergan.
They remarked, “We are over the moon with pride regarding this recognition of our students and program. Many long hours of preparation, practice, and collaboration have gone into creating art that resonates with spectators and judges. Our students are incredible, and this is a testament to all 130 or so who participated in the Decorah large group speech program this year. We would also like to extend our gratitude to our community, parents, school district, and the Decorah Performing Arts Boosters for the continued support we have been given in order to build a successful program.”
Submit A Comment
Fill out the form to submit a comment. All comments require approval by our staff before it is displayed on the website.