Come support the Bozeman High School “Hawkers” Speech and Debate team and hear about legendary longtime coach Anne Sullivan!  Under Anne’s guidance, the Hawkers became the dominant force in Montana Forensics for 2 decades.  Anne’s debate teams were Montana state champions 13 times, her speech teams overall champions 10 times, and Anne herself, speech coach of the year three times.  Also a shining star in the classroom, Anne was a finalist for Montana Teacher of the Year twice and selected by the Montana Association of Teachers of English Language Arts in 1997 as teacher of the year.  Anne retired from coaching in 2003. In 2004, Anne was the first person from the entire Northwest to be inducted into the National Forensics League’s Hall of Fame, an organization founded 100 years ago in 1925.  So distinguished in the realm of forensics, the Montana Forensic Education Association named their AA Debate Coach of the Year Award after her.  Help us honor and celebrate the influence and impacts she’s had on hundreds of students and the community at large in an evening which will include student performances, complimentary dessert bar, beer and wine cash bar, big-ticket raffles and maybe even a few surprises.

The event will be held on April 16, 2025 at The ELM from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. Doors open at 6:00 pm. Tickets are $40 for individual seats. Sponsorship tables available with VIP seating.  Contact Sarah Meltzer @ (406) 579-1695‬ / sjmeltz@yahoo.com.

All proceeds of this event go toward sending national qualifying Bozeman High Hawkers to the NSDA (National Speech and Debate Association)’s Centennial 100 Year Celebration National Tournament in Iowa in June, and to Tanzania later this summer. BHS team members will build on the last two years of successful collaboration with Tanzania students and teachers, teaching research methods, writing skills, and competitive debate in a two-week intensive camp, culminating with a multi-school Pan-African Speech and Debate tournament for the now official Pan African Speech and Debate League (PASDL) that it help found.

The Bozeman High Hawkers have been state champions four of the last five years, and 25 team members qualified for this year’s National Tournament in June where they will take on more than 5,000 high school students from nearly 2,000 schools.