Johnson prevailed Wednesday night again as the local Kings Lions Club declared Johnson, a winner for the second year in a row. Johnson, a senior this year, bested fellow Middle College High School freshman, David Figueroa, for the title.

The top this year was “Homelessness in California,” certainly a challenging subject for a pair of high schoolers. Johnson took home $100 for her effort. Figueroa earned a $25 check.

Chairperson Pino Etchegoin introduced the speakers as well as a panel of judges that included Kathy Allison, Lupe Solis, Betty Brown, and alternate Lupe Capozzi, all of whom delivered finely crafted speeches of their own.

Johnson has hopes of becoming someday a data analyst and expects to enroll at either U.C. Berkeley or UCLA in the fall. Until then, she’ll take her public speaking skills to the next competition, the Zone Competition in Laton, on March 4 at the Lions Hall.

Lemoore will host the Regional Zone 1 and Zone 2 competition on March 26.