First Florida, Then Nationals: Winners of FWEA High School Video Contest Triumph at WEF Competition—Shea Dunifon

First Florida, Then Nationals: Winners of FWEA High School Video Contest Triumph at WEF Competition

This past summer, the inaugural 2021 Water Environment Federation (WEF) Water Palooza video contest was hosted by the WEF Students and Young Professionals Committee (SYPC). Student entries, open to all ages, were received from the Illinois Water Environment Association (IWEA) and Florida Water Environment Association (FWEA), WEF member associations that each host their own respective video contests. With an entry “so far above the rest” the grand prize went to none other than FWEA’s own 2021 first-place high school video contest winners!

Winning Entry

The FWEA Public Communications and Outreach Committee (PCOC) hosts an annual high school video contest and this past spring awarded first place to Leo Meng and Hubert Pilichowski of Strawberry Crest High School in Hillsborough County for their mock news skit titled, “Toilets Tonight.” The 45-second video features host, Lav A. Tory, and lead reporter, Latrine Larry, in a breaking-news segment: the culprits of clogged toilets and sewers have been caught! For winning first place, Leo and Hubert were awarded a $700 cash prize.

As winners of the WEF Water Palooza video contest, Leo and Hubert will also receive gift cards from United By Blue, a company that promotes sustainable materials and ethical manufacturing to lead the charge toward better business practices. The company pledges that, for every product purchased, one pound of trash is removed from the ocean or waterways. To learn more about the company and shop its products, visit www.unitedbyblue.com.

Water Palooza

For those curious about WEF’s Water Palooza, it’s an annual daylong educational event that’s organized by SYPC with support from WEF PCOC. Water Palooza takes place the Friday before the Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference (WEFTEC) at a local elementary school where students visit multiple stations to learn about the value of water and initiatives in their community, and how to conserve water while protecting the environment at home. To learn more about Water Palooza, visit https:// www.wef.org/membership/students-andyoung-professionals2/waterpalooza/.

While the WEF Water Palooza video contest was a first this year, WEF and its SYPC hope to sponsor the contest again in the future and get more member associations involved.

Water Palooza logo.

Thanks to Staff and Members

A special thanks goes to all the WEF members and staff who helped make this inaugural contest possible: S Brandon Friedland, InnovaTreat S Stephanie Schramm, Jacobs S Allison Fore, Metropolitan Water

Reclamation District S Natalie Cook, Donahue and Associates S Tim Moran, Rogue Water S Megan Livak, WEF

Don’t forget to check out the WEF YouTube channel this fall to see all the video entries. To view the winning Florida (and now national) video on the FWEA YouTube channel, click on the “High School Video Contest 2021” playlist and then select the video titled, “Toilets Tonight.”

Shea Dunifon is the education coordinator at Pinellas County Utilities South Cross Bayou Advanced Water Reclamation Facility in St. Petersburg. She is chair of the FWEA Public Communications and Outreach Committee (PCOC) and co-vice chair of the WEF PCOC. S