{"id":284095,"date":"2026-05-25T22:07:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T22:07:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/284095\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T22:07:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T22:07:09","slug":"rotary-recognizes-essay-contest-winners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/284095\/","title":{"rendered":"Rotary recognizes essay contest winners"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Matthew Perez Murillo, Aubrey Klages and Sophey Blusiewicz, winners of this year\u2019s Rotary \u201cFour-Way Question\u201d essay contest, get their close up during the Rotary\u2019s weekly luncheon at Gulf Coast Village last Friday. CHUCK BALLARO<\/p>\n

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Aubrey Klages reads her first-place-winning Rotary \u201cFour-Way Question\u201d essay during the Rotary\u2019s weekly luncheon at Gulf Coast Village last Friday. CHUCK BALLARO<\/p>\n

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The precept of Rotary started nearly a century ago when a Chicago businessman named Herbert Taylor was looking for a way to keep his aluminum company from bankruptcy.<\/p>\n

He created a moral code for personal and business relationships. It asks these four questions;<\/p>\n

Is it the truth?<\/p>\n

Is it fair to all concerned?<\/p>\n

Will it build goodwill and better friendship?<\/p>\n

Will it be beneficial to all concerned?<\/p>\n

Taylor was able to turn things around. <\/p>\n

His \u201cFour-Way Test\u201d was picked up by Rotary and has become a pillar of what the service organization stands for.<\/p>\n

In Cape Coral, the Gold Coast Rotary of Cape Coral has expanded this concept by creating an essay contest for eighth graders where they explain a problem they have and solve it using the \u201cfour-way test.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dozens of Oasis Middle School students took part in the contest and the top three were invited to the Rotary\u2019s weekly luncheon at Gulf Coast Village to receive their awards and to read their essays.<\/p>\n

Dale Arvay, chairman for the contest for the Gold Coast Rotary, said he got the Oasis English department to have the youths write essays about problems they or their friends face\u2026 by themselves and not through AI.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe kids pick a topic that is often a dilemma they\u2019re facing in school such as bullying and CHAT GBT,\u201d Arvay said. \u201cWe\u2019re running into problems where kids are using that to write their essays. They use language far more advanced than what kids are using. These are gifted writers and the teachers are into what we\u2019re doing and trying to bring out that gift.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sunnie Roberts-Riquelme, an eighth-grade English teacher at Oasis, said the contest is important because the four-way test can be applied to anything in life.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s good for kids at this age to start understanding life with these four questions,\u201d Roberts-Riquelme said. \u201cThese kids knocked it out of the park, and I\u2019m so proud of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s winner was Aubrey Klages, who wrote about peace and kindness and how quickly rumors and lies can spread. She said rumors spread in school about many people, herself included.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes a story can start with one person and within a few hours everyone has heard it. Many of these rumors are far from the truth and they can ruin relationships,\u201d Klages said in her essay. \u201cThe four-way test can help us think about our actions before they come out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many people don\u2019t know what the truth really is and it can cause serious problems and misunderstanding. It certainly isn\u2019t fair for the person being talked about as it causes embarrassment and isolation.<\/p>\n

These rumors also destroy good will and friendships as they cause drama, mistrust and damage relationships. The only benefit comes from stopping the spread of rumors and treating people with respect and kindness.<\/p>\n

Klages said it was amazing to be recognized for her work.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first wrote it I thought it was for extra credit,\u201d Klages said. \u201cBut I put a lot of work into it and getting to be here is amazing. I\u2019m so happy and thankful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finalists included Matthew Perez Murillo, whose second-place essay was about peer pressure, and Sophey Blusiewicz, who wrote about teen mental health, was awarded third.<\/p>\n

For more information about the Gold Coast Rotary, go to goldcoastrotary.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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