Story by Greg Grant, Photo by Jc Tinsley
The Carmi Kiwanis Club kicked off the 2017 year with a well attended meeting on January 5. Club President Jeremy Jordan informed the club that plans are underway for Corn Day. Anyone with ideas for a theme should submit them to the club. Katelyne Wolff, program chairman for January, introduced Carmi-White County High School teacher Mrs. Jara Mitchell. Mrs. Mitchell teaches the Digital Media Class where students create news videos for the Carmi-White County Student News (CWCSN). In the fall of 2016, PBS television station WNIN sponsored a competition, inviting Evansville local high school media classes to submit videos. With only a one month deadline, four of her students wrote, filmed, and edited a video called “The Simon Way – Passing the Legacy.” Those four students are Cole Carter, Matt Rice, Jake Simon, and Justice Stubblefield. The students learned they were finalists and on December 1, at a special presentation ceremony, they learned they were awarded first place in the documentary division.
The first-place video, which was shown to the club, documents the family of Carmi-White County football coach Kurt Simon, his wife, Stacy, and their two sons, Jake and Luke. The focus of the video is how the family has passed the legacy of quarterbacking from father to sons.
After showing the video, students Cole Carter, Matt Rice, and Justice Stubblefield stood before the club to describe firsthand what it was like to create the video and win the award. Their first challenge was to decide on a subject. They looked no further than their own classmate Jake Simon. Once the story was chosen, they gathered footage using an iPhone at a home football game. They interviewed the family and collected footage of Kurt’s playing days at Morris High School in Morris, IL.
The students received a trophy and $1,000 scholarships to either the University of Evansville or the University of Southern Indiana. The video and award ceremony will air on WNIN on January 26 at 7 PM.
The Carmi Kiwanis congratulate Mrs. Mitchell, her students, and the Simon family. To see more videos created by the Digital Media Class, go to their Facebook page: CWCSN – Carmi White County Student News.
