Activities - NJCL Convention - 2000 - Daily Highlights - Friday, August 4

A bleary-eyed lot of JCLers dragged themselves to the fourth and final academic contest session at 7 a.m.! For most of the other JCLers, it was a chance to sleep in as the third General Assembly didn't get underway until 9:30. The first order of business was an official welcome from the American Classical League, the parent organization of NJCL, delivered by Sherwin Little, an NJCL sponsor from Ohio and National Commitee member emeritus.

The remainder of the assembly was given over to recognizing the accomplishments of JCLers in various areas. Jim O'Neil, the NJCL Computer Technology Chair, announced the Website Contest winners and specifically acknowledged those webmasters in attendance at this convention. Laura Giles, the NJCL Committee Chair, recognized the recipients of the 2000 NJCL and National Latin Honor Society scholarships. Penny Cipolone, the NJCL Public Relations and Membership Chair, then took the podium to announce the winners of the Publicity contest. She also honored those sponsors who had been nominated as Summa Cum Laude Sponsors by their peers.

Mrs. Giles ended the business portion of the assembly by recognizing longtime convention attendees and, per tradition, by presenting a silver bowl to five sponsors who were attending their 20th NJCL convention this year.

A special silver tray was also presented to Susan Schearer of Virginia who attended her 40th NJCL Convention this year!

After assembly, JCLers rushed back to Dale Hall for a Candidates' Open Forum, which gives delegates some one-on-one time with each of the candidates in anticipation of this evening's state fellowships when each delegation decides which candidates will earn their state's vote(s).

Though convention was about half over at this point, for the Open Certamen and Ludi Soccer participants, it was just warming up.For the soccer players, 'warming up' was an understatement as they played their matches under triple digit temperatures. In contrast, the Open Certamen teams began play after lunch today in the air-conditioned comfort of Dale Hall. The final segment of the Creative Arts contest, namely Latin Oratory, also got underway this afternoon, completing during the dinner hour.

During that same time, tensions ran high in Dale Hall as the Competitive Certamen semi-finals were held. In this set of rounds, the top six teams in each division pair off and play to determine the top three that will vie for the title during the final matches on Saturday. This year saw Florida, Texas, Tennessee and Virginia placing teams in the semi-finals at all three levels.

For JCLers and adults alike, tonight's meal was a special event. JCLers were treated to an outdoor dinner and dance, the Millennium Block Party, while sponsors and chaperones enjoyed their banquet at the Commons Restaurant. All came back together at the Lloyd Noble Center for That's Entertainment, a perennial convention classic event directed by the SCL that allows JCLers to showcase their other musical, comedic, and terpsichorean talents.

This year's favorite was Kelly Boywikt of New Jersey whose operatic solo captivated the judges. Runners-up included Greg Edwards' rousing show tune performance and the piano mastery of Joy Chen.

After That's Entertainment, delegates headed back to the dorms as they settled in for their respective state fellowships (and pizza!). On the agenda tonight was deciding for which candidates they would cast their state's votes at the elections held tomorrow.

Convention Ear, Friday, August 4, 2000 (requires Adobe Acrobat)