Welcome to the WKU NFL Regional Office!

In the summer of 2006 the National Forensic League and Western Kentucky University joined forces to begin work on a new pilot program. The goal of the regional office at WKU has been to lay the ground work for future regional offices across the nation while promoting NFL initiatives in a six state area - Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi. and Tennessee. As you navigate this page will encounter numerous links to iinformation of great value to those in the WKU region as well as those outside the region. Moreover, this page will be updated regularly. So check back often to find out more!

Congratulations to the following schools for being named the top ten schools in our region for the month of December. These rankings were determined based on the overall strength of each school and will be updated monthly. The list included the name of the school, the district they represent and the school's degree strength.

Munster HS (Northwest Indiana) 544

Chesterton HS (North East Indiana) 538

Plymouth HS (Northwest Indiana) 431

Downer's Grove South HS (Illini) 425

Oak Park and River Forest HS (Illini) 356

The Montgomery Academy (Deep South) 323

La Porte HS (Northwest Indiana) 259

Carl Sandburg (Illini) 248

Homewood-Flossmoor (Illini) 247

Wheaton North HS (Illini) 237

Honorable mention this month goes to: Ben Davis HS (Hoosier Heartland) 232, Rowan County HS (Kentucky) 219, Kokomo HS (Hoosier Crossroads) 197, Oak Grove HS (Mississippi) 191, Belleville West HS (Greater Illinois) 189, and Morristown West HS (Tennessee) 168. Honorable mention is given here to the strongest school from each district not already represented by a school in the top ten.

The National Public Policy Forum
The Bickle and Brewer law firm along with NYU and the National Forensics League are proud to once again offer students the opportunity to compete in a unique and one-of-a-kind contest. The National Public Policy Forum (NPPF) is the only national contest that gives high school students the opportunity to participate in written and oral debates on issues of public policy. Participants compete for cash prizes, an all-expense-paid trip to New York City, and the Bickle and Brewer Cup. For more information on the NPPF please visit www.nppf.net. The entry deadline is Wednesday, October 24th.

The People Speak
The United Nations Foundation and the National Forensics League have joined forces to offer high schools students to opportunity to discuss and debate serious global issues. This years public debate topics center on climate change and water. Participants in The People Speak Global Debates program will compete for an all-expense-paid trip to the UN Foundation Youth Leadership Summit held at the United Nations in New York in July 2008. For more information about this program please visit www.thepeoplespeak.org and for a list of NFL incentives click here.

Would you like to meet the Regional Director face-to-face? Well, chances are he will be in your area soon, and if not feel free to invite him to an event you are hosting.

Tentative Schedule - Spring 2008
January 4-5, 2008 -- Montgomery Bell Academy (Nashville, TN)
January 18-19, 2008 -- Hoosier Crossroads/Hoosier Heartland District Debate Tournament @ Ben Davis HS (Indianapolis, IN)
January 25-26, 2008 -- North East Indiana/Northwest Indiana District Debate Tournament @ Concord HS (Elkhart, IN)
February 21-23, 2008 -- Greater Illinois District Tournament @ Normal West HS (Normal, IN)
February 29 - March 1, 2008 -- Tennessee District Speech and Public Forum Tournament
March 21-22, 2008 -- Kentucky District Tournament @ Centre College (Danville, KY)
April 4-5, 2008 -- Mississippi District Speech Tournament @ Oak Grove HS (Hattiesburg, MS)

If you are a new coach in the WKU region (MS, AL, TN, KY, IN, or IL) who would like to be paired with an experienced coach in your area click here, and you will be connect with a mentor coach who will guide you through the first steps of coaching. If you are a new coach from outside the WKU region click here. Tyler Billman at the NFL National Office in Ripon, WI will assist you with the mentor coach program.

An NFL Guide for Coaches
Fun and Creative Fundraising Ideas
Early Invoice Form for Student Memberships

Debate Resources:
National Debate Coaches Association has provided NFL members with free acess to 1000's of pages of policy debate evidence. Simply click the link above and follow the instructions. The user name is NDCAEvidence2007 and the password is debate. Thank you NDCA!

A Textbook for Lincoln Douglas Debate
Nov/Dec LD Topic Overview
A Brief Guide to Public Forum Debate

Limited Prep Resources:
A Guide to Limited Prep Events

Interp Resources:
Request your FREE COPY of the 2005 National Interpretation Event Final Rounds on DVD or VHS.

Character and Characterization
Poetry Analysis
Prose Analysis

NFL District Tournament Evaluation
NFL District Coach of the Year Guidelines for Nomination

Chris Joffrion, is originally from West Monroe, Louisiana. He graduated from West Monroe High School in 1999 where he was an active member of the speech team. During high school, his forensics experience was limited almost entirely to interp events. Following graduation, Chris attended Louisiana College in Pineville where he received his Bachelor's Degree in Communication Studies. At LC Chris had the opportunity to participate in various forms of collegiate debate. After receiving his BA from Louisiana College, Chris headed to Lubbock, Texas to work on a Master's Degree at Texas Tech University. During his two years at Texas Tech, Chris served as the Assistant Director of Forensics, and while he will always hold a great appreciation for interp and speaking events, it was during this time in Texas that Chris fell in love with debate and began focusing his time and energy on learning and teaching the activity. After completing his graduate work and receiving an MA in Communication Studies, Chris was hired by Western Kentucky University to serve as the Assistant Director of Debate. During the last year, Chris has had the pleasure to coach one of the most successful college debate teams in history, and while he admits to being sad about leaving the coaching ranks at WKU, he looks forward to working with the National Forensics League inspiring coaches.

Chris is thrilled to have the opportunity to play a role in developing speech and debate in his six state region (Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee) and to be a part of an organization that further educates students and their coaches.

As the WKU Regional Director, Chris will give focused attention to the states of Kentucky, Alabama, Indiana, Illinois, Mississippi and Tennessee working on increasing memberships, creating workshops, implementation of regional development, as well as motivating talented students and their inspiring coaches.

CONTACT CHRIS:

Chris Joffrion
Regional Director, NFL
Western Kentucky University
Department of Forensics
Room 204 GCC
1906 College Heights Blvd. #51084
Bowling Green, KY 42101-1084
Phone: 270-745-2547
Fax: 270-745-6341
E-mail: cjoffrion@nflonline.org
www.nflonline.org