Rotarys "4-Way Test" was created by Rotarian Herbert J. Taylor in 1932 when he was asked to take charge of the Chicago based Club Aluminium Company, which was facing bankruptcy. The 4-Way Test became the guide for sales, production, advertising and all relations with dealers and customers, and the survival of the company was credited to this simple philosophy.
The 4-Way Test was adopted by Rotary in 1943 and to this day is considered to be a nonpartisan and nonsectarian ethical guide for Rotarians to use for their personal and professional relationships.
Recently our Club was priviliged to hear the Test applied to three varied topics: “Medical Misdiagnosis”, “Finding Cultural Identity” and “The Reality of Racism”; during the annual “4-Way Test Speech Contest” for Year 12 & 13 High School Students. The three contestants at Club level were Lara Canton (Logan Park High School) and Tui Katai (also LPHS), and Patrick Sefor Cloughley (Otago Boys High School); with Lara being declared the winning speaker.
While the “4-Way Test” was the basis of the speeches, judges also considered such things as clarity and logic, speech construction, language, visual and vocal impact, empathy with the audience and timing (5-6 minutes).
In normal circumstances, the finals of the contest would be held at the District Conference however because of the CoVid-19 lockdown this event was cancelled. Instead, the finalists will upload their speeches on to video and the judges will do their work remotely.
The winner will receive a prize to the value of $1,000, 2nd prize $500, 3rd prize $300, 4th $200, thanks to the very generous sponsorship from Wilkinson Rodgers Law
Thanks also to Lynne Guy, the organiser of the contest.
In recent years “Changeover” has varied from the formal “Black Tie” event to a themed (e.g. “Scarfies”) party. This years function was billed simply as a “relaxed affair with cocktail/finger food... and a cash bar.”
