Students to Compete in Third Annual Debbie Zimmerman Oratorical Contest

  SMYRNA – Motlow students can receive career-changing recognition, prizes and awards by participating in the third annual Debbie Zimmerman Oratorical Contest in HSC 138-141 at 7 p.m. on April 14.   

      According to Professor Robert Davenport, the contest is open to Motlow students from any of the MSCC campus locations, regardless of major or prior speaking experience. The deadline to enroll is April 1. Students can register by accessing the QR code on the event flyer or sending an email with their name, email address, phone number, and MSCC campus location to rdavenport@mscc.edu.

      Students will deliver original persuasive/argumentative speeches. The contest rules and requirements can be found in the Dean of Students shell on D2L.    

      “This is a wonderful opportunity for students to develop better speaking skills and more experience,” said Davenport, who serves as the event’s oratorical contest coordinator and an associate professor of speech on the Smyrna campus. “Effective communication skills are the number one characteristic employers look for in potential employees. Give this a shot to grow your communication skills.”

      If more than 10 students enter the contest, there will be a “semifinal” round in which students will submit a video recording of their speech. These speeches will be evaluated by a group of communication professors. The top 10 speakers from that round will qualify for an in-person final round on the Smyrna campus. If there are 10 or fewer entrants, all will advance to the final round to be eligible for prizes and awards.     

      The Smyrna Entertainment, Arts and Media Club and Motlow Humanities Department began sponsoring a college-wide public speaking competition called the Debbie Zimmerman Oratorical Contest in 2023. Professor Emeritus Zimmerman was a longtime speech and theatre professor at Motlow and instrumental in helping create and grow both disciplines.

      “Ideally, participants should have already completed the COMM 2025 – Fundamentals of Communication course or be currently enrolled in the class, but that is not an absolute requirement,” Davenport added.

Professor Robert Davenport and Smyrna Center Director
Gary Winton present a plaque to the 2024 first-place winner.

      Students who are taking/have taken English 1010/1020 can potentially turn a persuasive/argumentative essay they have done in the past into a persuasive speech for this event.

      As a former intercollegiate speech and debate coach/instructor, Davenport has always seen the benefits of students being able to effectively prepare and present presentations to help prepare them for their chosen careers.       

      “This event is an important extra-curricular activity for our students,” he said. "It can help them become better communicators in every aspect of their lives."

Motlow Students Invited to Participate in Second Annual Speech Contest

By Robert Davenport
Motlow Buzz Contributing Writer

SMYRNA -- Motlow Students can gain invaluable experience and career-changing recognition this spring by competing in the second annual Debbie Zimmerman Oratorial Contest. 

Emerging, intermediate and advanced student speakers are encouraged to enter the contest. 

The deadline to enter the contest is March 12 (Friday). Videorecorded speeches must be submitted by March 15. The speeches will be evaluated by March 22, with finalists notified they have qualified for the finals. The final round of the competition will occur at Moore County on April 4.

Students can enter the contest by emailing Associate Professor of Speech Robert Davenport at rdavenport@mscc.edu. In that email, they should state their name, email address, and the Motlow campus where they attend. Entrants will be emailed a list of the requirements for speech preparation and video submission.

Davenport is once again coordinating the contest, along with faculty co-advisors (Professor Charles Whiting and Professor Debbie Stockdale) of the SEAM (Smyrna Entertainment, Arts & Media) Club on the Smyrna campus. The event is also sponsored by the Humanities Department at Motlow. 

“I appreciate so much the support we have received from my colleagues who understand how important and rewarding this kind of activity is for our students across all of the campuses,” Davenport said. “We are committed to continuing to offer this opportunity to students for many years to come.”

Motlow debuted the contest last April with four students taking the podium for a series of self-penned persuasive speeches with visual aids. Kirsten Wright, who attended classes on the Sparta campus, won first place to become the first-ever Oratorial Contest champion.

The contest is named after Professor Emeritus Debbie Zimmerman, a longtime speech & theatre professor who was instrumental in building the curriculum at Motlow. She was also one of the judges for last year’s contest, along with two speech communication professors from MTSU. She expressed her appreciation for having the event named in her honor, sharing her hope that the contest would become an annual event.

The second annual Oratorical Contest is open to Motlow students (including dual enrollment students) who have already completed COMM 2025 – Fundamentals of Communication or are currently enrolled in that course.

Students who enter the contest will be asked to prepare and present a 6 to 10-minute persuasive speech on a topic of their choosing. Depending on the number of entrants, there will be a “semifinal” round in which students will submit a videotaped recording of their contest speech, which will be evaluated by a group of speech professors. The top five to 10 speakers from that round will then qualify for a live final round of competition on the Moore County campus and compete for trophies and other prizes.

Davenport emphasized how participation in this activity can be extremely helpful to students from any major or career path. The event will help them improve their speaking and overall communication skills as they prepare for the future. 

“Communication skills are the number one skill employers are looking for when choosing new employees for their companies,” Davenport noted. “Besides that, stronger communication skills can help students be successful in their other courses as they advance toward graduation.”

Motlow to Stage First-Ever ‘Debbie Zimmerman Oratorical Contest’

SMYRNA -- The Smyrna Entertainment, Arts and Media Club and Motlow Humanities program are teaming up to stage the first-ever “Debbie Zimmerman Oratorical Contest” in April 2022.

The contest, which is named in honor of Professor Emeritus Debbie Zimmerman, is open to students from all four campuses who have already completed the COMM 2025 Fundamentals of Communication course, including dual-enrollment students. The registration deadline is April 1 (Friday).

Students who wish to participate in this activity will be asked to prepare and deliver a 10 to 15-minute persuasive speech on a topic of their choosing. Presentations may revolve around societal issues, medical topics, political topics, or topics dealing with other important issues or concepts. The participants will be eligible to receive award certificates and prizes. The overall contest winner will receive an engraved trophy.

Students can enter the contest by e-mailing Professor Robert Davenport at rdavenport@mscc.edu or by calling his office at (615) 220-7963 between now and April 1. They should provide their name, the Motlow campus where they attend, and the semester and year they completed the speech course (COMM 2025). Speech requirements will be e-mailed to students promptly after their contest registration is confirmed.

“Debbie Zimmerman was a longtime Motlow communication professor who was instrumental in building the speech curriculum at the College,” said Davenport, event coordinator and assistant professor of speech. “She is thrilled to have her name placed on the title of this contest and honored to be involved with this opportunity for students.”

The speech contest will feature one semifinal round on the Moore County campus on April 11 (for Moore County and Fayetteville students) and another semifinal round on the Smyrna campus on April 12 (for Smyrna and McMinnville students). The top five speakers from the semifinal rounds will advance to the final round on the Smyrna campus on April 18. 

The Dean of Students Office will help promote the event with flyers and announcements in their shell on D2L. Feel free to submit any questions or comments to Professor Davenport at rdavenport@mscc.edu. 

“This will be a great opportunity for Motlow students to gain more public speaking experience,” Davenport continued. “It is something they can include on resumes and applications for college and potential jobs.”

Davenport added that the plan is to make the “Debbie Zimmerman Oratorial Contest” an annual event for Motlow students. The SEAM Club and Humanities program are encouraging students to help Motlow make history by supporting this historic event. 

Talent Show Spotlights Motlow Smyrna Talent

By Charles Whiting

Motlow Buzz Editor-in-Chief

        SMYRNA, Tenn. – The second annual “Motlow Smyrna Talent Show” was a big success, spotlighting 14 artists in the MLA Lobby on April 24.

        Students, as well as faculty, administrators and staff presented songs, instrumentals, poetry, comedy, and even a few magic tricks. Performers were Nya Alexander, Megan Buzard, Damian Copeland, Robert Davenport, Bob Fitzgerald, Paige Hendrickson, Orlando McHenry, Robby Napier, Rachel Towle, Montez Voorhies, and Charles Whiting.

Megan Buzard

        Elizabeth and Kevin Fitch made a special opening appearance with a 15-minute instrumental performance. 

Kevin and Elizabeth Fitch

        Magician Brian Foley entertained attendees with magic card tricks at a nearby table.

Brian Foley and Rachel Towle

        The show was emceed by English Professor/Comedian Nick Bush. Biff Kittii and Alara Bishop handled sound.

Biff Kittii and Alara Bishop

        Members of the Smyrna Entertainment, Arts and Media Club had been planning the talent show since January, and they were excited to see it come to fruition. The show was created to give students and others the opportunity to share their talents with the Motlow Smyrna community.

        To learn more about SEAM Club, contact Charles Whiting at cwhiting@mscc.edu.

Damian Copeland

Bob Fitzgerald

Nya Alexander

Montez Voorhies

Orlando McHenry

Paige Hendrickson

Rachel Towle

Robby Napier

Robert Davenport

My Exciting Summer (Singing Barbershop Harmonies With The Music City Chorus)

Robert Davenport

Motlow Buzz Contributing Writer

          SMYRNA -- Many of us (including professors) will ask each other before the beginning of the fall semester, “What interesting/exciting experiences did you have over the summer?”

          Well, you could say that my most exciting experience was “out of this world!”

          You see, I sing in the 100-plus man Music City Chorus (the Nashville chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society, headquartered in Nashville). We competed in the 80^th annual International convention of the BHS in early July in Orlando, Florida. The competition included the 50 best quartets and the 30 best barbershop harmony choruses from literally all over the world.

Motlow Smyrna Speech Instructor Robert Davenport (far right) performs with his barbershop quartet Mac-n-Cheese.    (Photo by David Belden)

          When the “dust settled” after the competition, we were ecstatic to be announced as the 2018 fifth-place Bronze medalist chorus – fifth place in the world! We had finished fifth in 2015, but we had never scored as many points as we did in this contest; in fact, we were only four points out of third place! I can say without reservation that it was the most exhilarating experience I have ever had on a stage!

          The chorus will be competing on Sept. 29 in a District competition in Oxford, Alabama, to attempt to qualify for the 2019 International contest in Salt Lake City, Utah. I will also be competing in a Seniors quartet (age 55 and over) to possibly qualify for the International Seniors Quartet competition in January in Nashville at the Grand Ole Opry House.

          The Music City Chorus (www.musiccitychorus.org) has performed all over Middle Tennessee since 1948. We do one to two large concerts every year, engage in various public performances throughout the year, send out quartets to deliver Singing Valentines, and regularly compete in District and International competitions. The chorus rehearses every Tuesday from 7-10 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Nashville and is always looking for singers who would enjoy singing four-part acappella harmony. We also have a Christmas CD that can be purchased through our website.

          The Barbershop Harmony Society (www.barbershop.org), in existence since 1938, has a strong youth outreach program and has recently begun accepting female members. Even though there are two separate female international barbershop harmony organizations, BHS is attempting to encourage mixed-harmony singing, inclusivity, etc. The BHS motto is “Keep the Whole World Singing.”

          Needless to say, this was my most exciting experience of the summer!

           (Editor's Note: Robert Davenport and his barbershop quartet Mac-in-Cheese will perform at 7 p.m. Sept. 25 at Nashville School of the Arts. To learn more or buy tickets, visit www.MusicCityChorus.org.)