The William and Marion Langfan Constitutional Oratorical Prize
Competition, a case debate, was held March 30 in Lumpkin Auditorium at the Moore School of
Business. The case, written by Pat DeMouy, lecturer of management, examined realistic current
business and constitutional issues in the area of human resources. Four teams of four undergraduate
business students competed. The first place team earned $1,000 and the Langfan medal, second place
earned $500, and third place earned $250. The judges included Judith M. Davis, vice president and
general counsel, BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina; The Hon. James H. Hodges, chief executive
officer, Hodges Consulting; James H. Suddeth, Jr., president and chief executive officer, First
Carolina Insurance Associates; J. Michelle Childs, commissioner, S.C. Workman’s Compensation
Commission; and Kester S. Freeman, Jr., chief executive officer, Palmetto Health. Dean Joel Smith
served as moderator.
The William and Marion Langfan Constitutional Oratorical Prize was established in 1999 by Mr. Langfan, an attorney, who received his undergraduate degree from the Moore School in 1943. Mr. Langfan won a similar medal as a member of the Euphradian Literary Society, one of the first student organizations at USC. The prize reflects Mr. Langfan’s belief in the importance of oratory as an educational tool, especially for lawyers and business people who must think on their feet, and his recognition for the substance of constitutional law. He has established similar competitions at the Cordozo School of Law at Yeshiva University, Cornell Law School, and Horace Mann High School, a private school in New York.
Winners shown above are: (from left) Raymond John McKinney, Stephanie P. Grainger, Vanessa M. Palka, and Mark D. Godfriaux. Not pictured: Bradley T. Hocking (with the USC Baseball team in Baton Rouge).