“I did this speech in honor of Brice Contreras and the many other countless lives that have been ruined and even ended because of alcohol” Ferguson said.

Given the topic of “Minors and Alcohol”, Ferguson decided to write a speech about the death of a then 20-year old friend and the way it affected not only him, but Contreras’ family and the community. Ferguson’s speech teacher Brian Duncan said he Held nothing back while giving his take on the issue of underage reckless drinking and moved many people to realize that in order to combat the evil he believes reckless drinking is, each person needs to realize that they should be doing everything in their power to make sure they prevent something like that happening again.

“Colton took an unfortunate experience, a loss of a close friend, to aid in his speech to reach the hearts and minds of the audience. That loss, coupled by other personal events touched the audience in such a way that many felt he should have won first place” Duncan said.

Although Ferguson didn’t win the top prize, he was able to place third in the competition and receive a $500 check.

” Although he did not win, ultimately, the real prize for Ferguson was getting the word and awareness out to whoever would listen so that another young life wouldn’t be prematurely lost,” Duncan said.

In the end Ferguson said he just wants to keep another tragedy from happening.

“You have to ask yourself are you going to be the one that helps out a minor in need or the person that pushes it on to someone else” Ferguson said.