World Championship of Public Speaking


The World Championship of Public Speaking began in 1938 and has grown to over 30,000 participants in 141 countries in 2018. In its early decades, it was referred to as the Toastmasters Speech Contest. By the 1990s, there were about 10,000 participants every year. The contest's popularity grew rapidly in the 2000s. The contest has been called the "largest speech contest in the world" by Daijiworld.

History

2014 champion Dananjaya Hettiarachchi of Sri Lanka was the first Asian to win the championship.
YearNameFrom
2019Aaron BeverlyPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
2018Ramona J. SmithChicago, Illinois
2017Manoj VasudevanSingapore
2016Darren TaySingapore
2015Mohammed Abdullah QahtaniDhahran, Saudi Arabia
2014Dananjaya HettiarachchiNawala Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka
2013Presiyan VasilevChicago, Illinois
2012Ryan AveryPortland, Oregon
2011Jock ElliottBongaree, QLD, Australia
2010David HendersonSan Antonio, Texas
2009Mark HunterAlbany Creek, QLD, Australia
2008LaShunda RundlesDallas, Texas
2007Vikas JhingranCambridge, Massachusetts
2006Edward HearnChicago, Illinois
2005Lance MillerGlendale, California
2004Randy HarveySherwood, Oregon
2003Jim KeyRowlett, Texas
2002Dwayne SmithDecatur, Georgia
2001Darren LaCroixAuburn, Massachusetts
2000Ed TateAurora, Colorado
1999Craig ValentineEllicott City, Maryland
1998Brett RutledgeAuckland, New Zealand
1997Willie JonesHonolulu, Hawaii
1996David NottageAuckland, New Zealand
1995Mark BrownMount Vernon, New York
1994Morgan McArthurIdaho Falls, Idaho
1993Otis Williams Jr.Cincinnati, Ohio
1992Dana LaMonLancaster, California
1991David RossNorman, Oklahoma
1990David BrooksAustin, Texas
1989Don JohnsonTorrance, California
1988Jerry StarkeMilwaukee, Wisconsin
1987Harold PattersonOklahoma City, Oklahoma
1986M. Arabella BengsonIslington, Ont., Canada
1985Marie C. PyneIreland
1984Joe BoydBellingham, Washington
1983Roy FenstermakerDowney, California
1982Kenneth BernardAustralia
1981Jim JoelsonReno, Nevada
1980Jeff YoungLos Angeles, California
1979Dick CaldwellCalgary, Alberta, Canada
1978Michael Aun IILexington, South Carolina
1977Evelyn Jane BurgaySpringfield, Virginia
1976William JohnsonAberdeen, Maryland
1975Andy McKayRochester, New York
1974Bennie PowellLos Angeles, California
1973Charles W. StewartSan Antonio, Texas
1972Rudy ValleCanoga Park, California
1971Bert AngusTranscona, Manitoba, Canada
1970Stephen D. Boyd
1969Dennis MangersDelano, California
1968Grant R. SheehanWashington, D.C.
1967Dale SmithGoshen, Indiana
1966Michael YaconelliSan Diego, California
1965John L. NydeggerLewiston, Idaho
1964Anthony C.L. BishopNorthridge, California
1963Larry BeitelWinston-Salem, North Carolina
1962Robert GartonColumbus, Indiana
1961John J. CarverSeattle, Washington
1960Glenn E. CarrollKitchener, Ontario, Canada
1959Dean F. BerkeleyBloomington, Indiana
1958Edmund Shire
1957Charles JonesFort Smith, Arkansas
1956David Holmes Jr.Toledo, Ohio
1955Charles W. BryantTacoma, Washington
1954Herbert ThompsonWood River, Illinois
1953Theodore B. FurlowLong Beach, California
1952George W. ArmstrongOmaha, Nebraska
1951Albert Green, Jr.Seattle, Washington
1950Charles HiltonMason City, Iowa
1949Dalton McAllisterFort Wayne, Indiana
1948Robert DellwoSpokane, Washington
1947Douglas SherwinClearlake, Iowa
1946Thor MyhreSpokane, Washington
1945NO CONVENTION
1944NO CONVENTION
1943Llyod Prante
1942Cavett RobertPhoenix, Arizona
1941John McInnis
1940David MacFarlaneSanta Monica, California
1939William RobertsHuntington Park, California
1938Henry WiensReedley, California