Ten middle school students from Eastern Maine gathered May 22 at Bangor Christian Schools to compete in a regional speech contest sponsored by Modern Woodmen of America, a national provider of fraternal financial services and programs.

Before the contest, students already had won first, second or third place in their local school speech contest and the district competition.

They shared their presentations on this year’s topic, “An American Landmark.”

The regional winner, Emily Worth, an eighth-grade student from Holden, won a $100 cash award and a trophy. Holbrook School also will receive an engraved trophy. Worth will advance to the national competition with her speech, “From Congress to World.”

Second-place winner, Stephan Noble of Mariaville, a seventh-grade student at Beech Hill School, won a $75 cash award and a trophy. His winning speech was “Fort Barrancas.”

Third-place winner, Hannah Woodward of Corea, a seventh-grade student from Peninsula School, received a $50 cash award and a trophy. Her winning speech was “The Old North Church.”

Modern Woodmen’s School Speech Competition is one of six free Youth Educational Programs Modern Woodmen offers to schools nationwide. More than 100,000 students compete in the contest each year.