Wuzzz Up: Johansen senior wins Modesto North Rotary speech contest

William "Vas" Giahos, a senior at Johansen High School, was the winner of the Modesto North Rotary's annual speech contest. Vas is the son of Gregg and Stephanie Giahos. He and contestants Alex Paramo and Ian Webby were coached by Johansen speech adviser Kristen Taylor.

"The Future is in our Hands" is the 2010 topic selected by Rotary District Governor Susan Drake of the Stockton Rotary Club.

Fifty clubs in the Rotary district are holding local club contests. Giahos and the other club winners will compete at a Feb. 24 district competition. The 12 area winners will "speak off" in the finals to be held March 13 at California State University, Stanislaus.

Students in grades 3 through 12 submitted more than 130 essays for the Friends of the Center Student Essay Contest. Kids in grades three through five were asked to write on the topic "What does art mean to me?" Sixth- through eighth-graders wrote on "Why are the arts important to our community?" And high school students answered the question "How has the Gallo Center for the Arts impacted our community?"

Essays were screened by three retired volunteer teachers, who selected the top three essays in each category. The final grand prize and runner-up essays were selected by the Gallo Center's senior development manager, marketing director and CEO.

The three grand prize-winning essays will be published in the Gallo Center's monthly magazine beginning in March. The winners also received cash prizes.

Here are the final results:

Grades 3-5: Grand prize, Rachael Hunt (Our Lady of Fatima); runner-up, Joshua Burgess (Big Valley Christian)

Grades 6-8: Grand prize, Anna Fogarty (Sacred Heart); runner-up, Nina Shahi (Turlock Junior High)

Grades 9-12: Grand prize, Kelly Lonergan (Johansen High); runner-up, Alex Paramo (Johansen High)

The Wuzzz Up column honors the achievements of area youth. E-mail teens@modbee.com.