Every year, members of the community give one or two afternoons to help the school - for a total of 800 hours or so - by judging for the Flathead speech and debate tournament.
"I think that the community does it because of the tradition that has been in the Flathead Valley for the past 25 years," said speech teacher Greg Adkins.
"Flathead has always held one of the biggest, or the biggest, tournament in the state," said Adkins. "Without the help of the community they wouldn't be able to hold it."
At this year's meet on Nov. 22 and 23, the Flathead squad won the overall AA tournament.
Speech members Anna Noice, Todd Feeley, Chris Koski, Josh Nickerson, Emily Cummings, Mette Romain, Ryan Fuller, Lindsey Lowery and Denny Meredith all won first place in their categories, helping Flathead overcome Bozeman 319 to 218.
Those judging speeches and debates included Mary and Dr. Harry Gibson, who have judged for the Flathead tournament all but a few years since 1977.
"I think it's interesting and very challenging," said Mary Gibson. "I'm very impressed with the caliber of the students who participate in speech and debate."
"I judge various levels but the better speeches are quite entertaining," said Don Alley, a judge for five years. "It's fun and it's only one or two afternoons out of the year."
Newcomers to the program, such as Donna Fuller, plan to judge for many years to come.
"I think I do it because I used to be involved in the program years ago," said Fuller. "The program seems to have come a long way in 20 years."
Although volunteering means giving up free time, many judges want to come back.
"It reminds me of how much work is put into it to make a great speech," said Gibson, adding:
"It only takes two to four hours a year, depending on how many matches you judge, and I think it's time well spent. I think most of the judges really enjoy doing it."