It is Friday, September 22nd, 2023, and the halls of Lincoln East are full of excitement as students prepare for the Homecoming Dance. While everyone else is getting ready, the award-winning Lincoln East speech team stays behind to set up for the fun night. The team has run the dance for over two decades, and the profits from Homecoming help fund their competition season. Nick Herink is one of two speech coaches and plays an important role in overseeing the setup of the dance.

“Without Homecoming, the speech team would not be able to compete as much as we do and involve as many kids as we do,” Herink said. “It’s a completely necessary part of the team.”

The speech team profits about $3000 each year from the Homecoming Dance, and this money is used to cover the costs associated with competitions and practices. Being a member of the speech team costs little to no money for students, and the funds from the dance help keep it that way. The more competitors the team can enter, the more chances they have to win big tournaments.

“Running Homecoming is so important because it’s our biggest fundraiser of the year,” senior Annabeth Schubert said. ” It helps to pay for many things throughout the school year, such as tournament fees, transportation fees, and helping to pay for state and nationals. Being able to run Homecoming is a huge contributing factor to our success in previous years, including winning state this past spring.”

Not only does the dance help fund their season, but it also helps bring people together. The speech team has many members, and they are rarely all in the same place at the same time. It takes a lot of work to set up Homecoming and all members of the team show up to get everything done.

“I think it’s really fun and I get to spend time with my friends,” Schubert said. “I definitely enjoy the time I spend with my teammates setting up every year.”

It’s no doubt that Homecoming is an important event for the speech team, and it helps keep them financially afloat. Competition season for speech begins in November, and the money they make from the dance will support them in their season and maybe even lead them to another state title.