Ogden column: Awards and opportunities

This, that and another thing about community and high school journalism.

IF YOU MISSED the announcement June 7, we have our first two $500 scholarship winners from our high school program.

Sam Stuer of Cedar Rapids Washington and Andrea Keppel of Anamosa were drawn from a pool of more than 50 students who submitted more than 150 stories, photos or videos for us to publish at www.IowaPrepSports.com or in the newspaper.

Stuer will attend Northern Illinois University in the fall, and Keppel is headed to Wartburg.

It was a fantastic first year for this program and we hope it grows and grows in our first full year, starting this fall.

Congratulations to the winners and all who contributed. And, remember, just because it's summer doesn't mean you have to stop. We still want your stories, photos and videos from baseball, softball or recreation sports.

SPEAKING OF AWARD winners, three other students won $500 scholarships through a fund raised for legendary radio/television journalist Bob Brooks.

Some of you may recall our push last year for Kingston Stadium to recognize Brooks for all his work with high school athletics. Thanks to the efforts of a great committee, the press box at Kingston was named in Brooks' honor in the fall and enough money was raised to start a Bob Brooks Scholarship fund for the three Cedar Rapids public schools.

Tara DeSousa of Washington, Nick Appleget of Kennedy and Taylor Mueller of Jefferson are this year's winners.

Steve Ridge of Frank M. Magid Associates and Tom Ecker, who got the ball rolling on the Brooks honor, are working on a workshop for high school journalists. We'll let you know when and where this will take place.

HOPEFULLY, SOME OF you have noticed The Sports Desk at www.TheGazette.com and www.KCRG.com. If not, these are five-minute webcasts on a variety of topics, from University of Iowa happenings to high school updates.

We also have some community-driven shows. Chad Cooper has been doing a wonderful small-college report each Tuesday, and Adam Rees, a frequent contributor to this page, has done a couple on fitness and health tips.

We're opening the door for more of these - from you. If you have an event to promote let us know. We can do the show with you or you can bring in your own guest.

Contact me jr.ogden@thegazette.com or call (319) 368-8697