Cadet takes gold in battle of words

WHITBY -- A 16-year-old Whitby resident knows a thing or two about the power of the spoken word.

Peter Charbonneau, a sergeant with 865 Pickering Kinsmen Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron, recently won the gold medal at the 2008 Effective Speaking Competition held in Quebec City.

The competition is sponsored by the Air Cadet League of Canada, a non-profit organization in partnership with the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces. Youths between the ages of 12 and 19 participate in a variety of activities that instill leadership, physical fitness and citizenship skills in about 450 Air Cadet squadrons across the country.

Cadets undergo effective speaking training in their first and second years but involvement in the competition is voluntary. They must first compete locally and provincially to qualify at the national level.

Peter is one of only three teenagers from Ontario to win the prestigious award in the competition's 17-year history.

He was 12 when he joined cadets. In his first year of competing at the squadron level, he made it to the provincial competition.

At the national level this year, Peter was up against 10 of the best Air Cadets speakers from across the country.

"It changed my life and brought me out of my shell," he said. "By putting yourself in front of a group and conveying a message, you're gaining an essential life skill. You get nervous, but once you're up there it just flows."

Peter's dad, Major Frank Charbonneau, is a commanding officer who has been involved with the cadets for more than 20 years. An effective speaker has the ability to inform, entertain and motivate the audience, he said.

Each competition has three judges from the community who are usually members of Toastmasters clubs due to their expertise in public speaking.

Cadets are asked to prepare a speech that's at least five minutes and no more than six minutes long, as well as deliver an impromptu speech that is about three minutes long.

For the prepared speech, the competitors choose from a list of five topics compiled by the league, write the speech on their own and deliver it within the allotted time without the use of visual aids or props.

Peter chose to give his speech about the heroism of Canadians at Vimy Ridge -- a decision he said was easy to make.

"I've always been interested in military history and Vimy Ridge is very important to Canada, so I wanted to pick something I was passionate about."

A formal presentation to celebrate Peter's award will take place when the Cadets meet for the start of the next training year in September. For more information on the Air Cadets or how to join, visit www.cadets.ca.