All-State Speech Festival will be a family affair

The audience quiets as the judge announces the piece. The two brothers look out into the audience before they break the silence with their powerful act.Will and Elliot Throndson know every line, every word, every movement by heart. The emotion on their faces and the tones of their voices pull in everyone watching, as the heartbreaking story begins to unfold.By the end, the audience is deeply moved and could call it nothing but flawless.The judge feels the same way.The boys are headed onto the state speech competition and, as they will come to find out later, the All-State competition, becoming part of a small and select group from New Hampton to ever make it that far.— For more on this story, see the Feb. 15 New Hampton Tribune.