AUGUSTA – Meg Richardson, a seventh-grade student at St. Mary’s School in Augusta, won second place at the national level of Modern Woodmen of America’s 2005 School Speech Contest. She is the daughter of Randy and Anne Richardson, Kents Hill.

As second-place winner, Richardson receives a $1,000 savings plan and two award plaques – one for herself and one for her school. Modern Woodmen District Representative Bruce Couverette, Augusta, sponsored the local contest and will present the awards to Richardson.

This year’s topic for the nationwide contest was “A Great Time in American History.” Richardson spoke about Eleanor Roosevelt resigning from the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1939 when the group refused to let African-American opera singer Marian Anderson perform at Constitution Hall.

Roosevelt arranged for Anderson to sing at the Lincoln Memorial instead. “It’s not a national holiday or something everyone knows about,” she said, “but it’s a day where one woman stood up for what was right and made a difference.”

The school speech contest, one of six youth educational programs sponsored by Modern Woodmen, is free to schools and youth groups across the country. More than 90,000 students took part in the 2005 contest, and 25 students advanced to the final national judging in July.

To learn more about Modern Woodmen, contact Couverette at 622-2062 or go to www.modern-woodmen.org.