After finishing his second year as current Director of Forensics, Jim Dobson will be taking a break.
Dobson has acted as director for two years in a row now.
Out of both of those years, the Talk Hawks have consistently won every local competition but one.
“We typically won’t direct two years in a row, it just worked out that way this time around,” Dobson said.
In his second year as Director of Forensics, Dobson traveled to Paris with his successful team of speakers for international competition. The Talk Hawks flew home with four semifinalists and many more participants in the top twenty.
“We traveled with both Tim (Heisler) and Jim and they’re like a great dynamic duo,” Talk Hawk member Katie Lai said.
Dobson, Heisler and Janet Brehe-Johnson are all responsible for coaching, traveling and doing the paperwork for the Talk Hawks. The three work in a rotation so they “don’t burn out.”
With all the traveling that takes place for speech and debate competitions, the three teachers have to be fully dedicated to their team of students.
“Being away from our family for that long can be tough on our family relationships.” Dobson said.
When the team is not at competitions, they are writing speeches for whatever competition comes up next.
“I would have no idea of what I was doing without their help,” Lai said.
As the last competition of the season, Nationals in Denver is the last competition in Dobson’s back to back years of directing before his break.
Next year, either Brehe-Johnson or Heisler will be taking over as director.
