MNUDL Students Lead Pledge at Minnesota Inauguration
Tartan HS debaters pose with First Lady Gwen Walz and our Executive Director, Amy Cram Helwich.
Our debaters were honored to be invited to take part in the Minnesota inauguration ceremony to kick off 2023. Policy debaters from Tartan High School led the Pledge of Allegiance at the event.
Team members took photos behind the scenes.
They weren’t the only debaters represented at the event. MN Secretary of State, Steve Simon, competed in debate at Hopkins HS. Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan competed in speech at St. Louis Park, and she shouted out her HS Speech teacher, Peter Redmond, at the event. (He was also part of the original group of coaches who helped started the MNUDL!) Her statements reflected what she told us at a previous Mayors Challenge:
Plus, First Lady Gwen Walz was a long-time speech and debate coach before she met her husband, Governor Tim Walz. In fact, he told us:
“I told Gwen, when she got me involved in speech and debate, that we need to do this in the middle of a football field so everyone can see how simply amazing it is- what debaters do every day.”
Thank you so much for helping our students kick off 2023 with such a fun honor!
