LAKELAND, Fla. (Feb. 15, 2008) — Florida Southern sophomore Krista Miller earned a 4th place “After Dinner Speaking” title in the Florida Interstate Forensic Association (FIFA) state championship held Feb. 9-10 at Florida State University. Miller’s top finish is a strong continuation of success from the previous year, when she was the 2007 Novice National Champion in After Dinner Speaking.

FIFA is the largest statewide competition and hosted students from 11 Florida colleges and universities. This is the first year that FSC has participated in the competition. Five members of the team were entered in a total of ten events, adding six new speeches to the FSC roster.

Team newcomer Jordan Stout, a junior, also showed strong signs of improvement, missing finals in After Dinner Speaking by two points, and finishing 12th in Impromptu Speaking against 25 other competitors. The team will be competing next in the Delta Sigma Rho nationals and the University of Florida Gator Invitational in March.

The Florida Southern Forensics Team is sponsored through a generous grant by Lakeland businessman C.C. “Doc” Dockery. The team currently has open slots for additional team members for the 2008-2009 season. For more information about intercollegiate forensics, please contact Chris Fenner at cfenner@flsouthern.edu.