McDowell coach William Caugherty and students honored for decades of speech and debate success

The Mill Creek Township School Board opened its meeting with a formal recognition of William Caugherty for more than two decades leading McDowell’s speech and debate program and for his induction into the Pennsylvania High School Speech League Hall of Fame.

Herb Giller, identifying himself as an assistant administrator at MHS, read a lengthy introduction that credited Caugherty with transforming a dormant program beginning in the 2001 school year into a widely respected program that has produced state and national champions. "For more than 2 decades, Mr. William Caugherty has built and sustained an exceptional speech and debate program in McDowell," Giller said, noting district, regional and national championships and that Caugherty’s teams have won multiple sweepstakes and district titles.

Caugherty, who said he did not deserve all the accolades, thanked the district for its support and praised his students’ effort. He introduced senior state champion Talia Hillen, who he said won the state championship in dramatic performance and advanced to the semifinals at the Tournament of Champions at the University of Kentucky, and noted that students Smarthi Shankar and Soumya Devan Thiraraja were selected among a district’s ten individuals for the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) world schools debate team and will attend nationals in Richmond, Virginia.

Board members and the public applauded the recognition. The board then moved on to its regular agenda.

Provenance: Recognition and introduction SEG 001–SEG 183.