2013 Performance Trust Public Debates on the U.S. Economy
On December 13th and 14th, ten of the top high school teams in the Chicago Debate League will compete in the 2013 Performance Trust Public Debates. For the last four years, Performance Trust has been the lead sponsor and host of this prestigious invitational tournament, held at its downtown Chicago office. Performance Trust staff members lend their time to provide expert guidance to students, “champion” teams, judge, and host the two-day event. This year, Stout Risius and Ross, MB Financial Bank, and McGladrey will co-sponsor the tournament.
Students will debate topical resolutions that focus on the economic impact of the Affordable Care Act, and the status of the U.S. manufacturing sector. This invitational tournament gives students a unique opportunity to explore current economic issues in a format that combines strong argumentation and refutation skills with a public-oriented speaking style.
Volunteers from our corporate sponsors have spent hours working with debaters, helping them conduct research and build their cases. Adam Buresh, a trader at Performance Trust, has no background in debate but has volunteered for the public debate every year. “Performance Trust people who watch a debate for the first time are often blown away by how articulate and intelligent the high school debaters are. Nearly anyone who has done it once volunteers again each year,” Adam says.
We are excited to have two new schools participating in the Performance Trust Debate for the first time this year – Bogan High School and Kennedy High School. Debaters will compete in five elimination rounds on Friday, then return on Saturday for the runner-up and championship public debate, followed by an awards ceremony. Performance Trust will award $5,000 in college scholarships to top debaters. If you are interested in attending the Performance Trust Public Debates, please e-mail Megan Clark at mclark@performancetrust.com or call at 312-521-1419.
