- December 13, 2025
Ronald (Mel) Melvin, of Palm Coast, recently rose above more than 800 local participants to win District 84 of the Toastmasters International Speech Contest, representing Central and Northern Florida. Melvin has qualified to advance to the semifinal rounds of the Toastmasters World Championship of Public Speaking, which will be held in August, in Orlando.
Representing Toastmasters on the Halifax, in Daytona Beach, Melvin surpassed competition with his speech, “Common Ground.” The speech touched on the theme of taking responsibility to create common ground with people.
When it comes to connecting with an audience, he said, “You need to capture and speak to the audience members’ hearts.”
