Marvin Orella Speech Contest

The idea for creating a Speech Contest was incepted in 1997 by the Union Rotary Club. The board of directors, under the leadership of President Nancy Issenman, former Township Clerk, was then seeking a way to support youth through education. The club worked with then English Department Supervisor, Gail Fortunato and Dr. Theodore Jakubowski, Superintendent of Schools, to establish a format and process for the contest. Annually, the Rotary Club awards scholarships to the three top winners of the Speech Contest at Union High School, held at Union High School and judged by a team of teachers and Rotarians using a criteria developed and fine-tuned over the years.

Marvin Orella was Rotary President the following year. Being a great orator himself, he infused the Speech Contest with his savoir faire and ideas. When Marvin passed away unexpectedly in 2005, Rotary re-named the contest “The Marvin Orella Speech Contest” in honor of his passion for this annual project.

With the glee of a child counting down the days to a birthday, Marvin would look forward to Rotary’s speech contest with great anticipation, excited by the topics selected and the anticipation of listening to each student’s unique point of view.

Part of Marvin’s delight was derived from his personal experience as a participant in a speech contest sponsored  by the local Lion’s Club when he was in high school. From that experience, he developed a love of public speaking a sense of self- confidence that carried him successfully through life. His goal was to share those skills with students to give them that same opportunity to shine.

The other reason that Marvin cherished Rotary’s speech contest was that he just loved people, and in particular, he relished the energy,  spirit, intelligence and inventiveness of students. While he was a man of great experience and strong opinions, he was always open to new ideas, new approaches and diverse perspectives on the same subject. The speech contest provided an ideal venue to share different points of view across generational and educational gaps.

Marvin was leader in Rotary, as he was in all aspects  of his life. He was “eloquence personified.” We all miss him greatly and believe that his spirit lives on through the speech contest that was fueled by his intelligent, beautiful energy.