Stuart - Most teenagers are encouraged to stop arguing. But a well-crafted argument is music to Shawna Dooner's ears.

Dooner is the speech and debate coach at Jensen Beach High School and one of two coordinators of the first Martin County School District Debate Challenge, which was held November 7 at Martin County High School.

She and Kristin Carbone, the coach for Martin County High School, coordinated the event as a fundraiser and raised $930, thanks in large part to the sponsorship of several community businesses, including the Law Offices of Willie Gary, PA, Leonard Rosenberg, PA, Liberty Tax Service and the Dolphin Bar.

"The tournament helped pay for the expenses associated with travel to the Palm Beach County League tournaments each month and allowed extra practice for the bigger competitions," Dooner said. "It allowed parents to see a glimpse of their children performing...and of course, it promoted a healthy, friendly rivalry between the two schools in the spirit of academic competition."

Joseph Smith, a ninth grader from Jensen Beach High School, took first place in the declamation event for his delivery of the "We Shall Overcome" speech, first delivered by President Lyndon B. Johnson a week after violence erupted in Selma, Alabama, over race relations in 1965.

"And so I say to all of you here and to all in the nation tonight that those who appeal to you to hold on to the past do so at the cost of denying you your future," Smith said with presidential decorum and restrained passion. "These are our enemies: poverty, ignorance, disease. They are our enemies, not our fellow man, not our neighbor."

Danielle Zabrauskas, an 11 th grader at Jensen Beach High School, took second place in the same event for her delivery of the speech, "Perils of Indifference," by Holocaust survivor and Nobel Laureate Eli Weisel..

"Indifference is always the friend to the enemy for it benefits the aggressor - never his victim, whose pain is magnified when he or she feels forgotten," Zabrauskas said, repeating one of the most memorable lines from the 1999 speech.

A full listing of winners follow:

In Public Forum:
1st: the team of Anthony Kakayonnis and Matt Hogan (JBHS)
2 nd: the team of Jesse Hornberg and Sarah Rocheleau (MCHS)

3rd: the team of John Bryan and Daniel Rosenberg (JBHS)

In Lincoln Douglas:

1 st: Meaghan McMahon (MCHS)
2nd: Kyle Panton (JBHS)

In Declamation:
1st: Joseph Smith (JBHS)
2nd: Danielle Zabrauskas (JBHS)

In Duo Interpretation:
1st: The team of Gabby Sanandajian and Aubrey Read (JBHS)
2 nd: the team of Marie Mahovetz and Richie Losardo (MCHS)

In Oral Interpretation:

1 st: Brianna Green (MCHS)

2 nd: 2nd: Charles Spring (JBHS)

3 rd: Rachel Rohan (MCHS)

Other gold sponsors for the event included Conchy Joe's, Priority Payout, Margaret Helm, Diamond Pools, Senior Solutions of the Treasure Coast, Prudential Real Estate, Huntington Learning Center, Larry and Connie Dahn, Gary Kirsch, Richard Boschen, Jr, The Kaiser Family, Beaches MRI, The Cross Community Church, God's Creatures Animal Clinic, The Dmytriw Family, The Rohan Family, Dr. Richard & Stacey LoSardo, and Christina's Total Skincare Studio.