Area Students Place in National C-SPAN Video Competition

C-SPAN announced the winners of its 2009 “StudentCam” national video documentary competition. This year's C-SPAN’s StudentCam video documentary competition generated a record number of entries. Over 1,900 students from 41 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam submitted nearly 1,000 entries, marking a 300% increase from 2008.  Nine of the twenty-seven winning documentaries were from Florida including two local students, Travis Bennett and Shawna Caul, 11th grade students at Lake Weir High School in Ocala, for their video "A Message to Our New President." 

"Cox is delighted to announce Travis Bennett and Shawna Caul from Ocala, FL has won Honorable Mention this year in C-SPAN's National 2009 StudentCam Video Competition,” said Devon Chestnut, community/education public affairs specialist for Cox Central Florida.  “Cable initiatives such as 'C-SPAN Classroom' and StudentCam allow students to utilize alternative resources to communicate opinions, embrace self-expression, and debate the pressing issues in their community."

"Education is a major component of Cox’s community involvement, and we are committed to further these efforts to advance the educational opportunities for our students.  We are especially proud of all the Marion County students and teachers who participated in the competition.  We are honored by the effort and dedication Travis and Shawna put into their work; you are most deserving of this award."

Negro Baseball League Scholarship

Cox recognized Akai Milson, a student at Vanguard High School, as the Diversity Project Poetry Scholarship Contest winner. The Diversity Project Poetry Contest was held in honor of the unveiling of the Cox Negro Baseball League Project. Akai's winning entry earned him a $500 scholarship towards post-secondary education.