By Gabrielle Dillard
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Operating under the slogan "Hope is Contagious", Valencia Community College's journalism department hosted Orlando movie director David Nixon at a press conference on Thursday. The successful director of hit films "Facing the Giants" and "Fireproof" was there to talk about his latest movie, "Letters to God".
The film is based on a true story about a 7-year-old boy named Tyler Doherty who, after being stricken with brain cancer, begins to write letters to his creator.
"This story isn't overwhelming at all," said Nixon on the tone of the film "It's heartwarming rather than overwhelming."
All of Nixon's movies thus far have been faith-based films targeting a formerly neglected Christian movie audience. After the success of Mel Gibson's epic film "Passion of the Christ", Nixon was approached by an Albany, Georgia church called Sherwood that was looking to get into the movie business.
"They called me up and said 'We can't pay you, but we can house you and feed you!" Nixon said.
But that was enough for Nixon who then gathered a few seasoned movie technicians and made his way up to Albany. Together, the two films Nixon made in collaboration with the church went on to earn over $10 million world-wide. Their amazing success prompted Sony Pictures, their distributor, to ask Nixon to direct three more faith-based films.
"Letters to God" is the first of Nixon's three films for Sony and will hopefully be his most successful film to date.
"It costs so much to make movies," said Nixon. "I wanted to put that money into something that really matters."
"Letters to God" is currently being shown at select churchs and fundraiser events. It is set to open officially in theaters on April 9th, 2010.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
I Owe How Much?! Financial Planning at VCC
By Gabrielle Dillard
KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Valencia Community College's Dean of Students, Chris Klinger, is passionate about money. That is to say, he's passionate about helping Valencia College students manage their funds. On Thursday, Klinger held a lecture at VCC's Osceola Campus entitled "I Owe How Much?!?" that was all about helping students identify and deal with their financial debt.
"The most important part is planning," said Klinger. "Students seem to be afraid of that word, planning, but it's just so important."
According to Klinger, the number one reason for college drop-outs in America is financial commitment. He said during his lecture that education is one of the best reasons to create debt, but as some recent graduates soon find out, bad credit after graduation due to debt accrued in school can affect job placement. "Student loans never go away!" Klinger warned. "Sometimes not even after you die!"
During the Thrsday lecture, Klinger touched on some of the warning signs of impending financial trouble which include over-use of cash advances, returned or "bounced" checks, using one credit card to pay off another and delaying medical or dental attention for lack of funds. Klinger was particularly adamant about this last one, noting that it's often college students who choose to forgo their health in favor of a night out with friends or course material for their classes.
Noemi Rodriguez, one of the students who came to the event, was particularly interested in finding ways to pay down her credit cards. "Honestly, I originally came here because it was required," Rodriguez confessed. "But I have 2 credit cards that are maxed out and I know that's not good."
Another student, Omar Cooper, had a slightly different story. "I'm not in debt right now, but I'm worried that I might get there eventually," said Cooper. "I guess it's just better to be safe than sorry."
The lecture also included some useful information on where to go for financial assistance such as the Central Florida chapter of the Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) and Valencia's own web site. Thus far these finance lectures and workshops are only being held at the Osceola campus, but the goal is to eventually expand the seminars to students at all four campuses.
KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Valencia Community College's Dean of Students, Chris Klinger, is passionate about money. That is to say, he's passionate about helping Valencia College students manage their funds. On Thursday, Klinger held a lecture at VCC's Osceola Campus entitled "I Owe How Much?!?" that was all about helping students identify and deal with their financial debt.
"The most important part is planning," said Klinger. "Students seem to be afraid of that word, planning, but it's just so important."
According to Klinger, the number one reason for college drop-outs in America is financial commitment. He said during his lecture that education is one of the best reasons to create debt, but as some recent graduates soon find out, bad credit after graduation due to debt accrued in school can affect job placement. "Student loans never go away!" Klinger warned. "Sometimes not even after you die!"
During the Thrsday lecture, Klinger touched on some of the warning signs of impending financial trouble which include over-use of cash advances, returned or "bounced" checks, using one credit card to pay off another and delaying medical or dental attention for lack of funds. Klinger was particularly adamant about this last one, noting that it's often college students who choose to forgo their health in favor of a night out with friends or course material for their classes.
Noemi Rodriguez, one of the students who came to the event, was particularly interested in finding ways to pay down her credit cards. "Honestly, I originally came here because it was required," Rodriguez confessed. "But I have 2 credit cards that are maxed out and I know that's not good."
Another student, Omar Cooper, had a slightly different story. "I'm not in debt right now, but I'm worried that I might get there eventually," said Cooper. "I guess it's just better to be safe than sorry."
The lecture also included some useful information on where to go for financial assistance such as the Central Florida chapter of the Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) and Valencia's own web site. Thus far these finance lectures and workshops are only being held at the Osceola campus, but the goal is to eventually expand the seminars to students at all four campuses.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Genealogy Branches Out in Kissimmee
By Gabrielle Dillard
Kissimmee, Fla. - Ann Bergelt spends hours every week pouring over decade old tax forms and century old birth certificates. The dedicated librarian is also a very avid genealogist and research instructor here in Central Florida.
As Bergelt explained, "Genealogy is learning our family history, our family backgrounds," which is precisely what she helps amature genealogists do once a week on Thursday evenings. At the Hart Memorial Central Library in Downtown Kissimmee, members of the public can come seek advice from Bergelt and her contemporaries in the Genealogy Lab. The small room in the back of the sprawling library is crammed with large leatherbound books filled with statistics dating back over a century.
But with the advent of the computer and internet databases, what's the point of trolling through all those dusty, decaying books? Perhaps Bergelt put it best when she said, "Internet and new technology makes searching quicker, but there are many documents out there that still have to be tracked down the old-fashioned way."
Still, the internet may be a good starting point for those would-be genealogical sleuths with no clue where to begin. Websites like Ancestry.com and Genealogy.org are a great resource to help fill in those bare family trees, if you don't mind paying a fee for the premium versions of the site.
But for the people who come to Bergelt and The Genealogy Club of Osceola County for help, digging through family albums and yellowed letters might be more satisfying because of its personal nature. One new comer to the Thursday night meetings is Susan Rhodes of Kissimmee. Rhodes' decision to learn more about her ancestral roots came from a very personal place - her daughter.
"My daughter had a family tree assignment last week in school. She asked me a lot of questions that I didn't know the answer to, so I decided to go find out," she explained.
The Genealogy Club of Kissimmee meets on the first Sunday of every month at the Hart Memorial Central Library in Kissimmee. Membership is required for these meetings. Volunteers also provide research assistance every Tuesday morning and Thursday evening in the Geneology Lab at Hart Memorial that is open to the public with no membership required.
Kissimmee, Fla. - Ann Bergelt spends hours every week pouring over decade old tax forms and century old birth certificates. The dedicated librarian is also a very avid genealogist and research instructor here in Central Florida.
As Bergelt explained, "Genealogy is learning our family history, our family backgrounds," which is precisely what she helps amature genealogists do once a week on Thursday evenings. At the Hart Memorial Central Library in Downtown Kissimmee, members of the public can come seek advice from Bergelt and her contemporaries in the Genealogy Lab. The small room in the back of the sprawling library is crammed with large leatherbound books filled with statistics dating back over a century.
But with the advent of the computer and internet databases, what's the point of trolling through all those dusty, decaying books? Perhaps Bergelt put it best when she said, "Internet and new technology makes searching quicker, but there are many documents out there that still have to be tracked down the old-fashioned way."
Still, the internet may be a good starting point for those would-be genealogical sleuths with no clue where to begin. Websites like Ancestry.com and Genealogy.org are a great resource to help fill in those bare family trees, if you don't mind paying a fee for the premium versions of the site.
But for the people who come to Bergelt and The Genealogy Club of Osceola County for help, digging through family albums and yellowed letters might be more satisfying because of its personal nature. One new comer to the Thursday night meetings is Susan Rhodes of Kissimmee. Rhodes' decision to learn more about her ancestral roots came from a very personal place - her daughter.
"My daughter had a family tree assignment last week in school. She asked me a lot of questions that I didn't know the answer to, so I decided to go find out," she explained.
The Genealogy Club of Kissimmee meets on the first Sunday of every month at the Hart Memorial Central Library in Kissimmee. Membership is required for these meetings. Volunteers also provide research assistance every Tuesday morning and Thursday evening in the Geneology Lab at Hart Memorial that is open to the public with no membership required.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
My Very First Post!
So this is it! My very first post on my very first blog!
I'm mostly just using this as a t-t-test to see how all this will work before "Dooms Day" a.k.a. my first JOU 1100 deadline.
Here's to hoping all goes well!
And here's a photo I took in my Photo Journalism course back in Ohio. I think it makes my post look a little less "lonely".
I'm mostly just using this as a t-t-test to see how all this will work before "Dooms Day" a.k.a. my first JOU 1100 deadline.
Here's to hoping all goes well!
And here's a photo I took in my Photo Journalism course back in Ohio. I think it makes my post look a little less "lonely".
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