Kerrville, TX – Held annually since 1926, the Battle of Flowers Oratorical Contest is the oldest university and college-level competition in the state of Texas. The Battle of Flowers Association Oratorical Contest will be held on Friday, Feb 26, 2021 at the Witte Museum in San Antonio. Consisting of no more than twelve finalists, with no more than three from an individual school, it is a prestigious honor for students and offers a great opportunity to support the unique Texan history and culture.

This year, three Schreiner University students were selected to compete in the Battle of Flowers Oratorical Contest: Zach Lyman- freshman from Medina, Madison Young- junior from Bandera, and Andrew Ward- junior from Dallas. Along with their advisor, Dr. Don Frazier, they will be representing Schreiner University in this statewide competition. Every year, the event awards generous monetary prizes to its five top finalists – 1st $5,000, 2nd $2,500, 3rd $1,500, 4th $1,000 and 5th $750 – and to the top three university advisor’s departments – 1st $2,500, 2nd $1,500 and 3rd $1,000.

This year’s oratorical theme will be “Extra! Extra! Texas Journalists Making History.” Due to COVID-19 the 2021 Oratorical Contest contestants will give their speeches via ZOOM to the audience and judges convened at the Witte Museum – masks and social distancing will be required as dictated by the governmental rules in place at the time of the contest.

For more information, please contact Dr. Don Frazier, Director of The Texas Center at Schreiner University, at dsfrazier@schreiner.edu.