Dad owes daughter mayoral meetup after speaking competition performance

Sakshi Shenoy, 11, was the youngest competitor in the final for the Calgary Stampede Youth Agriculture Speaking Championships. She placed second. (Courtesy: Sudhir Shenoy)

Fuelled by her dad’s promise, 11-year-old Sakshi Shenoy approached the Grandstand Stage.

Sakshi was the youngest competitor in the final for the Calgary Stampede Youth Agriculture Speaking Championships.

She sings. Public speaking, not so much.

“My heart was pounding, but as soon as I took the microphone, I just focused on the message,” she told CTV News.

Sakshi placed second.

“My speech was all about how our growing ‘concrete jungle’ often sacrifices our environment for economic growth,” she said.

“With rising food prices and climate instability, we need to bring agriculture into our urban communities.

“It’s important to me because my generation is going to inherit this city, and I want to make sure Calgary grows into a place that is green, sustainable and healthy for everyone.”

Sakshi said coming in second place among the juniors “felt like a dream.”

“Being cheered for on that massive historic stage at the Calgary Stampede is a moment I will remember for the rest of my life,” she said.

Now, there was just the matter of that promise.

Sakshi’s dad, Sudhir Shenoy, told her if she placed, he’d get her a meeting to share her message with the mayor.

‘The ultimate motivator’

Sudhir said he knew his daughter needed “an extra push” to share the “brilliant, dynamic ideas in her head.”

He said he also knew Sakshi looked up to the head of the city’s council table, Jeromy Farkas.

“You always want to challenge your kids to step outside their comfort zone because that is where they truly grow,” he said.

“I had to find the ultimate motivator.”

Seeing his daughter place second made Sudhir “incredibly proud.”

“For me, what has made it worth it is seeing Sakshi’s joy,” he said.

Sakshi said she “never would have entered this competition” if her dad hadn’t challenged her.

“I held up my end of the deal, and now it’s his turn!” she said.

“The idea of actually sitting down with Mayor Farkas is so exciting. ... I didn’t just write this speech to win a prize; I wrote it because I care about the city we live in.”

‘A top-priority meeting’

Now, here’s a thing:

The mayor said he’s excited by the idea of sitting down with Sakshi, too.

Farkas told CTV News his door is “always open to our future leaders” and that he’ll reach out.

He called it “a top-priority meeting.”

“I was really interested in her topic, especially when it comes to balancing the need for green space with downtown urban development,” he said.

“I’m also quite interested in her ideas around food insecurity.”

Farkas said what Sakshi tackled in her speech are “the same questions that our city council has.”

‘Not surprised at all’

Former CTV chief meteorologist David Spence was a judge in the competition’s juniors preliminaries.

He said he remembered Sakshi and was “particularly impressed” by her passion.

“I am not surprised at all she wants to take her ideas to the mayor,” he said.

“I know Mayor Farkas will be impressed.”

Spence said it was his third year judging, and a difficult year, “as all the contestants were so good.”

“Each of the competitors knew their stuff, and their speeches were outstanding,” he said.

“They brought sometimes surprising perspectives to their topics—all of them well-thought out and well-presented.”

‘The others inspired me’

This year’s top competitors in the senior division (16-24) included:

• Shelby Duterte from Bonnyville in 1st;
• Khalid Kassam from Calgary in 2nd;
• Jenalee Stewart from Ponoka in 3rd, with
• Honorable mentions to Maggie Heisler from Leduc County, Kate Albrect from Holden and Avery Hnatuk from Foothills.

This year’s top competitors in the junior division (11-15) included:

• Ariella Enechukwa from Calgary in 1st;
• Sakshi Shenoy from Calgary in 2nd;
• Tulsa Smith from Byemoor in 3rd, with
• Honorable mentions to Darsh Singh from Calgary, Paige Lenz from Parkland County and Julie Fletcher from Crossfield.

Each competitor gave a five-to-seven-minute speech on “one of five agriculture-related topics,” according to the Stampede’s website.

All of the speeches can be viewed on the Alberta Young Speakers for Agriculture Facebook page.

Duterte told the Stampede newsroom she’s “very passionate about bringing youth into agriculture.”

“I like to talk about agriculture a lot, so when I saw this opportunity come up, I thought it would be perfect,” she said.

Duterte said she “expected the competition to be really good.”

“Everyone is so passionate about agriculture. Listening to the others inspired me,” she said.