A high school junior from Jim Wells County took home first place and a $6,000 scholarship as winner of the Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) 2020 Free Enterprise Speech Contest.

Trevor Martinez, son of Carlos and Tammy Martinez of Premont, topped 12 other speakers from across Texas in the annual contest.

Martinez, an honors student at Bishop High School, is active in FFA, 4-H, National Honor Society, the youth board of the local Rotary Club and his church, First Baptist Church Premont. He is secretary of the Premont Cactus 4-H Club, second vice president of Jim Wells 4-H, a delegate-at-large for Texas 4-H and a certified peer visitor (CPV) for the National Amputee Coalition.

He plans to attend Texas A&M University or Texas A&M University-Kingsville and major in chemistry or biology with the intent to pursue a career in forensics or the pharmaceutical industry.

“The Free Enterprise Speech Contest was, overall, a scary but exciting experience. I met a lot of people and made some wonderful connections, and I had a great time being here,” Martinez said. “My key takeaway from the Virtual Leadership Conference last summer and this experience is almost everything revolves around the free enterprise system in our country. We’re lucky we live in a society and nation that embraces free enterprise.”

Runner-up in the competition and winner of a $3,000 scholarship was Holly Alderson of Guadalupe County.

Alderson, the daughter of Doug and Vicki Alderson, is a junior at Marion High School.

She is active in the National Honor Society, FFA and 4-H. Anderson is a Texas 4-H Livestock Ambassador, Guadalupe County 4-H Ambassador, vice president of Santa Clara 4-H Club and sentinel of Marion FFA.

She plans to attend Texas Tech University and major in agribusiness. After college, Alderson plans to pursue a career in livestock photography and marketing.

“Trevor, Holly and all of our contestants delivered great speeches detailing the benefits of the free enterprise system and how it’s integral to our nation’s success,” TFB President Russell Boening said. “It’s wonderful to hear from young people who are knowledgeable about our economy, our government and Farm Bureau. We’re proud of these students’ hard work and the roles they will play in the future of agriculture.”

Four other finalists and winners of $2,000 scholarships were Caroline Alders of Nacogdoches County, Faith Geistweidt of Gillespie County, Laura James of Fayette County and Callie Welty of Johnson County.

Other contestants and winners of $1,500 district scholarships were Jonathan Connell of Mitchell County, Avery Flanagan of Runnels County, Lillianna Gonzales of Jack County, Cassidy Halfmann of Falls County, Hannah Ritchie of Smith County, Bryson Stone of Lynn County and Sarah Stovall of Moore County.

To compete in the Free Enterprise Speech Contest, contestants must have participated in Texas Farm Bureau’s Virtual Leadership Conference last summer.

More details about the contest and other youth opportunities are available online at https://texasfarmbureau.org/youth/youth-opportunities.