MARION COUNTY, Fla. — Marion County Public Schools students will take center stage Friday night as the Marion County Student Media Festival celebrates its 25th year honoring young talent in audio and video production.
The annual event is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday inside the Browne Greaton Cole Auditorium on the district campus at Browne Greaton Cole Auditorium, 1614 E. Fort King St. in Ocala. Admission is free and open to the public.
Organizers say the festival, supported through community donations and led by local educators, highlights student work across all grade levels and has become a long-running tradition in Marion County.
This year, students submitted 220 entries representing 18 schools. In March, nearly three dozen industry professionals reviewed submissions across 12 categories and four age divisions.
Longtime sponsors include Robert Boissoneault Oncology Institute and Public Education Foundation of Marion County.
This year’s host is Kathy Dugan Adkins, a donor relations specialist with the CF Foundation at College of Central Florida. Adkins, a longtime local radio personality, also took part in Dunnellon High School’s original Tiger Vision program and previously hosted the festival two years ago.
During the ceremony, community leaders and district administrators will present awards and certificates, including four Best of Show honors for grade groups kindergarten through second grade, third through fifth grade, sixth through eighth grade and ninth through 12th grade.
Best of Show winners receive trophies, cash prizes for their schools and “bragging rights.”
To mark the 25th anniversary, several former festival winners who graduated from Marion County schools and now work or study in communications-related fields will return as guest presenters.
Two memorial awards will also be presented Friday night.
The THEME Award, short for the Teri Hartley Effort in Media Education Award, honors festival founder Teri Hartley, who died of cancer in 2013. The award recognizes a student entry that narrowly misses Best of Show but stands out for exceptional effort and creativity.
The Joel Hartley Achievement in Cinematography Award honors Joel Hartley, a longtime district photojournalist and videographer whose work helped shape the festival over nearly two decades. Hartley died from COVID-19 complications in 2021.
A new honor will debut this year: the MacWhitty Award, created in memory of longtime festival supporters Robin MacBlane and Larry Whitler.
Organizers say the award recognizes an elementary school entry that best captures joy and laughter. MacBlane and Whitler, both longtime radio voices in Ocala, died last summer after being struck by a drunk driver.
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