Nana Dhwomoh recently won the Optimist Club of Brookings oratorical contest based on a theme of “How to Change the World with Optimism.”

Dhwomoh was awarded $150 and a medallion for the honor. In addition, Dhwomoh will be sent to the zone level, where he will compete against winners from other Optimist clubs in the eastern South Dakota. The winner of the zone competition will be sent to the district level with the chance to win a scholarship, and then possibly on the Optimist International Regional/World Championship for a chance to win an additional $5,000 or up to another $15,000 scholarship.

“Dhwomoh did a wonderful job presenting his speech about the questions posed to him,” Club President Jan Stange said. “The members of our Optimist Club have no doubt that Nana has a bright future ahead of him."

The Optimist Club of Brookings has been participating in the Optimist Oratorical Contest for many years and has been active in the community since 1972 Other programs and service projects that the Club is involved in include the avenue of Flags, Trout Extravaganza and Kite Festival.

Optimist International is one of the world’s largest service club organizations with over 80,000 adult and youth members in almost 3,000 clubs in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico and throughout the world.

The Optimist Oratorical Contest is one of the organization’s most popular programs, with more than 2,000 clubs participating annually.

Carrying the motto “Bringing Out the Best in Youth, in our Communities, and in Ourselves,” Optimists conduct positive service projects that reach more than six million young people each year. To learn more about Optimist International, visit www.optimist.org.