Local Air Cadet wins regional competition and represents at provincial contest

May 7, 2014 · 0 Comments

If you were at Mohawk College on Saturday, April 26 you wouldn’t have been able to tell that the Air Cadets were between 14 to 18 years old as they gave speeches years beyond their age at the Effective Speaking Provincial Finals. WO2 Kyle Fisher from the VandenBos Squadron in Whitby won the provincial title.

Flight Sergeant Shealyn Amiro from the local Shelburne Squadron took part in the final competition. Amiro gave a prepared speech on the topic “An Ordinary Canadian doing Extraordinary Things”, and an impromptu speech about “The three things I would change if I ruled the world”. Amiro was one of 13 Air Cadets who competed in the provincial finals speaking in front of a crowd of 100, and several judges.

“It was an amazing opportunity for me to speak in front of a large crowd and improve my skills; it also felt pretty good to be acknowledged as a finalist in the province,” said Amiro. “The Air Cadets have provided me wonderful opportunities like this to be an effective speaker and a leader within my community.”

The finalists in the provincial contest had to first win at their own squadron, regionals and finally provincials. “The contest is getting bigger each year meaning more Air Cadets are becoming passionate about the confidence of idea, the strength of voice, and leadership,” said Ontario executive director, Scott Lawson. “The effective speaking contest is just one of the amazing programs that we give our Air Cadets to be effective citizens within the community.”

With the provincial final finished, the Effective Speaking National Finals will be held on June 12, 2014 in White Horse, Yukon. The Air Cadet League’s Effective Speaking Competition program aims to provide an opportunity for Air Cadets to increase their self-confidence and enhance their ability to reason, organize and express ideas; promote citizenship; encourage air cadets to participate in an optional activity that will provide them with an opportunity to acquire effective speaking skills through instruction and practice in a structured and competitive environment; and increase public awareness regarding the citizenship and leadership aspects of the Air Cadet program.

The Air Cadet League of Canada along with the 12 Provincial and Territorial Committees have been providing direction, guidance and support to the Air Cadet movement in Canada for over 60 years.

The Air Cadet Program is open to the youth of Canada who are between the ages of 12 and 18. Administered jointly by the Department of National Defence and the Air Cadet League of Canada, the program offers a wide variety of training and exciting challenges and rewards to those young people who have chosen to take part in this program.