The Hays High Speech and Debate scored several awards at the 8th Annual Capitol Congress contest held at the Texas Capitol on Nov. 29.Student Congress is a speech and debate event where students write, present and debate legislation following the same procedural rules as state and national legislators. Ian Cameron, Ryan Coffey and Evan Ricke advanced to the final chamber, designating them among the top 20 competitors in the House of Representatives. Both Evan and Ian earned medals in recognition of their achievement. In addition to his finalist medal, Coffey was also named Outstanding Presiding Officer, and earned second place overall. In recognition of his performance, Senator Bob Hall awarded Ryan the Capitol Congress gavel, which is roughly three times the size of a normal gavel, is hand constructed and can only be awarded by a sitting Texas legislator.
