Speech Teacher with Plano ISD Announced as Member of the National Speech & Debate Association Hall of Fame

The National Speech & Debate Association has announced that Karen Wilbanks, retired Speech teacher and coach at Plano Senior High School, as a new member of the NSDA Hall of Fame.

Wilbanks has epitomized excellence and demonstrated leadership, generosity, humility, and grace during her more than 30 years in the speech and debate community. She has served the NSDA Lone Star District Committee for over 10 years, two of which she was committee chair. Wilbanks worked on the Nationals Tab Room Committee for many years and served on the NSDA Interpretation Committee. She also assisted with four National Tournaments held in Grapevine-Colleyville ISD and Dallas in 2006, 2011, 2015, and 2019.

As a five-diamond coach, she served on the Texas Forensic Association (TFA) Executive Council, including a term as president, and was named to the TFA Hall of Fame. During her tenure, her school was the #1 Sweepstakes school at the TFA State tournament for 10 years in a row and she coached five NSDA National Champions and many finalists, a number of whom have gone on to careers in film, television, and theater. Her programs have been named National Schools of Outstanding Distinction as well as Schools of Excellence in Speech and in Debate.

Induction into the NSDA's Hall of Fame is the highest honor available for speech and debate coaches. With approximately 200 members, less than one percent of NSDA member coaches receive the honor of being part of the Hall of Fame.

All NSDA member coaches are given the opportunity to nominate individuals who either have at least 25 years worth of speech and debate coaching experience, or who have retired from speech and debate coaching. Current Hall of Fame members and other distinguished speech and debate coaches are then given the opportunity to vote five new candidates into the Hall of Fame each year. The 2022 members will be officially inducted into the Hall of Fame at the National Speech & Debate Tournament, from June 13-17 in Louisville, KY.

The National Speech & Debate Association is the largest interscholastic speech and debate organization serving middle school, high school, and collegiate students in the United States. The Association provides competitive speech and debate activities, high-quality resources, comprehensive training, scholarship opportunities, and advanced recognition to more than 150,000 students and coaches every year. For 90 years, the National Speech & Debate Association has empowered nearly 2 million members to become engaged citizens, skilled professionals, and honorable leaders in our society. For more information, visit www.speechanddebate.org.