At it, again! They just won't quit. They use any excuse to motivate and stimulate young minds with their positive influence.

Yes, readers, the West Hills Optimist Club has just held another one of its famous Oratorical contestants. Three young men and one young lady competed for the honor of representing the West Hills Optimist Club at the next level, the "Area" contest.

All four students attend Chaminade High School in West Hills. The young lady is Priya Rajan and the guys are Neeraj Chandra, Sean Batir and Andreas Lazaris.

Priya Rajan's mother, Dr. Anita Rajan, her brother, Sanjay Rajan, andher very proud grandmother were there to cheer her on. I regret that I was unable to obtain the grandmother's name.

Also present were Sean Batir's mother, Marival Batir, and Andreas Lazaris' mom anddad, Bessie and Spieros Lazaris. Bill Hadala Sr., a member of the Optimist Club served as the official timekeeper.

Lt. Gov. Lydia Espinosa, who was there to make the evening even more special, stated that this was one of the best that she has attended.

When these young men and women presented their oratorical entries, they were amazing.

The oratorical judges - Sharon Rosen, Dennis Sherman and Eric Panunialman - had a very difficult but enjoyable time trying to determine the winners.

Sharon is a teacher in Northridge, Dennis is an analyst for Northrop Grumman, and Eric is self-employed as a financial consultant. The contest rules prohibit Optimist members from judging the contests.

Dennis proudly wore his Kiwanis Club shirt to the event and was not subjected to any harassment for doing so. Dennis believes that the various service clubs should work together as much as possible to serve the needs of the community.

Eric actually came to the meeting expecting to be a guest and then he very graciously volunteered to judge when another judge could not be there.

The topic of "Why me?... Why not?" provided the students with a challenge that they all met with engaging and very different speeches. Some delved into a personal format while others use a more global approach.

They all performed surperbly and left everyone impressed with their poise and maturity. Unfortunately, only two could go forward and they are Priya Rajan and Neeraj Chandra.

Jacquie Young is to be congratulated for her tireless work on this traditional oratorical contest. She spent many hours on E-mail trying to get entrants, and then worked all of Tuesday afternoon to help them get them ready for this competition.

Of course, this is nothing new for Jacquie. She has chaired this contest for most of the 18 years that the club has been in existence. She is well qualified, having taught speech and drama at local schools for over 20 years.

Not content with this, the Optimist Club will also be holding a "Kids Speak Out" contest at the NEW Academy in Canoga Park and continuing with over a dozen other projects.

When will they stop? ... Never!