While vacationing in Florida one winter, Educational Lt. Governor Sam Itkin took the opportunity to visit a District 47 Area Speech Contest. Interestingly enough it was something he’d never seen before - a “Dramatic Reading” contest. Sam liked what he saw and brought the idea back to District 30.

 A few months later District Governor Sam Itkin and Educational Lt. Governor Sherry Sala promoted the idea to the District Council at the 1980 Fall Conference. They too liked the idea and adopted the Dramatic Reading Contest to compliment the International Speech Contest in the spring.

 Sherry Sala, Carl Miller, Rosalie Ames and Dick Storer were appointed to establish the rules, and very shortly thereafter the new Dramatic Reading Contest became an overnight success. Beverly Bennet of Club #371, Speaker’s Forum, won the inaugural District-level contest in the spring of 1981.

This contest was discontinued in 1999 after Toastmasters International ruled that districts could only conduct contests that were in the TI official rulebook. At the Fall 2000 District 30 Conference the First District 30  Dramatic Reading Showcase was conducted. The showcase was patterned after Region V's Humorous Speech Showcase.