Public speaking and communication skills have been proven to be the most needed skills in order for citizens to obtain a job in the workforce. In order to provide this experience for youth at an early age, CES planned and implemented lessons in which over 1500 youth throughout the county were educated on the importance of communicating well, and on how to properly give a speech and demonstration. CES also implemented 4-H Speech and Demonstration contests at all 6 of the county elementary schools, as well as holding a county run-off contests for both speeches and demonstrations. Of the 4^th and 5^th grades in Jessamine County, nearly all classrooms chose to make either the speech or the demonstration contest mandatory in their classrooms.  1346 youth competed at their school in the speech or demonstration contest, with one grade level requiring both contests!  24 participants earned their way to the area speech and demonstration contests from the county and of those youth, 14 were selected to compete in the State Communications Day. Both of these events had to be held virtually, due to the global pandemic.  This did not deter participation from Jessamine County Youth.    This is a 200% increase in participation at the state contest by Jessamine County youth over last year.  One family commented that they were thrilled with the support their daughter received through the Jessamine County 4-H Program while competing all the way to the state contest. Another parent stated they enjoyed helping their child learn from each score sheet and improve their speech each time they competed.  Of the youth who competed at one of the 6 elementary schools, 90% said they are better prepared to speak in front of others after participation in the 4-H contests.