New Smyrna Beach High School senior among 45 recognized for excellence
DAYTONA BEACH -- Cheyenne Drews, 17, has been writing a community blog since she was in the eighth grade.
In a matter of weeks, she'll be graduating from New Smyrna Beach High School and heading off to college at summer's end.
But hopefully not before she submits a few more of her top-notch entries for Headline Surfer® as she has done every four to six weeks or so for the past five years under her blog heading "One Day at a Time."
On Wednesday evening, Cheyenne and 44 other seniors from public and private high schools across Volusia County were recognized as "Medallion of Excellence" awards recipients by the Daytona Beach News-Journal during what was described by the print newspaper as an "invitation-only event at the Daytona 500 Club at Daytona International Speedway."
The Medallion of Excellence symbolizes academic, extracurricular and community events. In Cheyenne's case, she excelled in all three areas:
* Academically, she's a high-honor's student.
* In terms of extracurricular, she's been a member of the theater productions.
* And with community involvement, Cheyenne has been a volunteer for Sophie's Circle, an animal feeding pantry and, of course, has been committed to her blog since she was 12 years old and in eighth grade at New Smyrna Beach Middle School.
As publisher of Headline Surfer®, I'm proud of Cheyenne for her devotion to her academics and love of the theater, and most of all, her commitment to her community through Sophie's Circle and with her teen blog, "One Day at a Time."
And yet, the News-Journal chose to omit Cheyenne Drews' Headline Surfer® blog from her biography published in the newspaper on Sunday. Why? The News-Journal just couldn't bring itself to recognize that the upstart internet newspaper has made the investment in a young person, something the new ownership under Halifax Media couldn't begin to understand how to put into play.
Let's be real about this: The Medallion of Excellence program is a holdover from the previous ownership under the Davidson family, led by the great patriarch, the late Tippen Davidson. The Davidson Family, for all of their hangups, had one big thing going for them that the current owners under Halifax Media's Michael Redding, Offill and the glad-handing editor Pat Rice lack: And that's class.
For the current owners, the awards ceremony is a way to promote their "big-shot" image. Imagine, "invitation-only award" and at the Daytona 500 Club at the Speedway. The News-Journal loves to let everyone know of their relationship with Daytona International Speedway President Joie Chitwood.
And yet the Daytona Beach News-Journal in its infinite pettiness, couldn't bring itself to publicly recognize Cheyenne Drews' Headline Surfer® blog. Yet, in today's News-Journal, there's a display photo of News-Journal Publisher Bill Offill in a dark suit, posing with one of the students like he's "Mr. Big Shot." The star of the show. The Don.
And yet the Daytona Beach News-Journal in its infinite pettiness, couldn't bring itself to publicly recognize Cheyenne Drews' Headline Surfer® blog. Yet, in today's News-Journal, there's a display photo of News-Journal Publisher Bill Ofill in a dark suit, posing with one of the students like he's "Mr. Big Shot." The star of the show. The Don.
Problem for Mr. Offill, the latest import reject of Michael Redding and Halifax Media, is outside their circle of political and business insiders, nobody else has a clue who these guys in cheap suits really are.
By omitting Cheyenne's blog from her bio in Sunday's newspaper, It sent a message to her. It sent a message to her family. And most of all, it sent a message to me.
Cheyenne Drews told me she was disappointed it wasn't included, but she's a smart kid who understands the politics.
The bottom line is it reinforces the News-Journal is scared. They know we are better. They know we are well known.
Let's face it. Bill Offill and your's truly can walk into a full room in Volusia County and it's certainty, he'd be an island unto himself.
None of this, of course, takes away from the achievements of Cheyenne Drews or the other 44 students. All are to be congratulated.
And Cheyenne Drews has demonstrated with her blog topics that she is a teenager with a bright future who is wise beyond her years.
Darlene Vann, another of our community bloggers from Edgewater has often marveled at the seriousness of the topics and the maturity shown by Cheyenne.
"I am amazed at how mature she is and the topics she writes about," Vann said.
Our oldest community blogger, 89-year-old Michael Visconti of Edgewater, has also marveled at the clarity of Cheyenne's writing and the subjects she's tackled.
For Visconti, an Italian-American, the writing is very labor intensive and he often speaks in glowing terms of Cheyenne's descriptive writing style.
Cheyenne has tackled some tough topics, from the violence in the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman case to the suicide of a fellow student from her school.
Cheyenne Drews who has immersed herself over the past half decade such topics that show she's got a great head on her shoulders. Of course, she has excellent parents in Michael and Suzanne Drews, who understand the meaning of family, commitment and self-sacrifice.
Here are some examples of her Cheyenne Drews' blog writing: