By Rusty Nixon Correspondent
PLYMOUTH — Nancy Tyree knows about speaking out loud.
The junior at Plymouth High School is the daughter of Plymouth Assistant Superintendent of Schools Dan Tyree and wife Charlotte, an English teacher at PHS. Both know just a little bit about public speaking having coached speech at Plymouth for many years. With brother Jon, a freshman at PHS now and also involved in speech, it’s a common topic around the house.
“It doesn’t help that my parents coach me all the time,” laughed Nancy. “You get a different kind of feed back than you would from a normal coach I will say. I think it helps the performance.”
Some of that coaching paid off recently for Nancy as she finished second in the state at the Poetry Out Loud competition, sponsored by the Indiana Arts Commission, National Endowment for the Arts and The Poetry Foundation. is part of a national program that encourages high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization, performance, and competition.

More than 250,000 students across the country are expected to take part in Poetry Out Loud this year culminating in national finals in Washington, D.C. Tyree’s second place finish will bring a monetary prize for the Plymouth High School library.
“I had a really fun time,” said Nancy of the competition finals held in Indianapolis. “I was nervous on the first poem, by the second I was getting into it and by the third I was really comfortable.
“Pretty big auditorium so I was kind of scared when I first walked in. It helped that I have a lot of experience public speaking.”
Away from public speaking Nancy is just a normal junior in high school with the typical interests.
“I try to read, but I haven’t had a lot of time this year,” she said. “I like to hang out with friends the normal things.”
What about reading poetry?
“I don’t particularly go to a book store and sit and read poetry,” she said. “But I like it. There are so many types, there’s something for everyone.”
It was selections that she liked that made up her choices for performance.
“I tried to pick some things that fit my personality,” she said. “I didn’t really want something very dark or heavy, but a little more light and witty I guess
“It was a lot of fun, it was really enjoyable. I like performing and won a little money for our school. That was nice.”