Twenty-two area high school seniors recently participated in the first annual St. Lawrence County Rotary Clubs Four-Way Test Essay Contest.
The Rotary Clubs of Canton, Massena, Ogdensburg, and Potsdam offered the essay contest as an incentive to young people to develop their skills of self-expression and as evidence of a sincere interest in the ideals of our youth.
Adriana Levendusky, a homeschooled student from Lisbon, took the $1,000 first-place award with her essay “Social Media.” Midwife Sunday Wellness and Birth Center in Potsdam sponsored the award with a $1,000 donation.
Abby Williams of Ogdensburg Free Academy won the second-place award of $500 with her essay “Glass Half Full.”
Leah Morgan of Massena High School got the $250 third-place award with her essay “Volunteerism.”
Paul French of Hermon-DeKalb High School was honored with the $250 fourth-place award with his essay “WWII.”
The Rotary Clubs of Canton, Massena, Ogdensburg, and Potsdam each contributed $250 for the second through fourth prizes.
The essay focused on any topic of the student’s choosing, but had to apply the principles of the Rotary Four-Way Test:
Of the things we think, say or do:
· Is it the TRUTH?
· Is it FAIR to all concerned?
· Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
· Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
The Rotary Four-Way Test was first conceived in 1932 at the height of the Great Depression by a Chicago businessman, faced with the challenge of saving a major company from bankruptcy. Looking for a way to save the company, he sought a short yardstick of ethics that could be used.
Company personnel were asked to learn the test and to observe it as a guide to every aspect of business. As a result, a climate of trust and goodwill gradually developed among the company’s dealers, customers and employees, and the Four-Way Test was credited with returning the company to a thriving status.
Eleven years later, The Four-Way Test was adopted as one of Rotary’s guiding principles.
The Four-Way Test is a nonpartisan and nonsectarian ethical guide for Rotarians to use for their personal and professional relationships. The test has been translated into more than 100 languages, and Rotarians recite it at club meetings.
The Four-Way Test has inspired safe driving programs, crime and drug reduction activities, and has been the subject of countless secondary school essays. The message has also appeared on roadside billboards, bronze plaques.
Left to right: First-place winner Adriana Levendusky, third-place winner Leah Morgan, fourth-place winner Paul French, Potsdam Rotary President Sunday Smith, Massena Rotary President-Elect Eowyn Doud, Ogdensburg Rotary President Donna Trimm, and Canton Rotary President Tim Welpe. (Not present for photo: second-place winner Abby Williams.)