TCTC students help send messages overseas

Students offer a freevideo-message service for military families.
By MARY ELLEN PELLEGRINI
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
CHAMPION -- Step into the Interactive Multimedia College Tech Prep classroom at the Trumbull Career and Technical Center here and you will meet a group of friendly students eager to share their talents and energy.
These juniors and seniors, versed in Web page design, animation, scriptwriting, audio production and TV production, are combining their technical abilities with an exercise in civic responsibility.
From now until Dec. 20, Interactive Multimedia students, in collaboration with Treasured Moments in Austintown, will record video messages free of charge for military families to send their loved ones serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"It's always good to say thank you to our troops when they are laying their lives on the line every day for us," said Wesley Kimbler, a junior. Kimbler's comments echo the beliefs of John Bagnola, who developed the Interactive Multimedia course and teaches the class at TCTC.
Making the videos
Bagnola, owner of A World of Video and Treasured Moments in Austintown, donated his company's services during the first Gulf War.
"In 1992 there were 1,000 families from Austintown with loved ones in Iraq. It was getting close to the holidays and we wanted to do something," he said. Bagnola's production house videotaped 60 families' messages then and is hoping to triple that number this year.
Families in Trumbull County can have messages taped at TCTC, while those in Mahoning County can do so at Treasured Moments studio at 46 N. Meridian Road.
Maggey Wolfe, a junior multimedia student at TCTC, knows firsthand the value of this project. Her father Charles, a chief warrant officer in the Marines, left Camp Lejeune for Iraq in September.
"He sent us a couple of pictures and he looks really tired. He just looks like he needs something to cheer him up," she said.
Wolfe, her mother Maria and brother Kevin have been communicating via e-mail. Thanks to her class venture, the Wolfe family can now relay more than words.
Sending videos overseas is normally difficult because foreign systems operate on a different format. Tapes produced through this project are transferred to the proper system for viewing in Iraq and Afghanistan. When the transfer process is complete, families receive top-quality videos to mail to their loved ones.
What's included
The project began last October with resulting videos filled with laughter, tears, comfort and variety. Students taped groups ranging from three to 40 people. Some children came dressed in Halloween costumes. Some families performed original skits. One young girl sang a song she performed in her school play.
Bagnola and his students accommodate most requests. A large flag made by students two years ago is available for a backdrop. Participants may also bring their own signs and posters for use in their video.
"It's important to tell students we can give something back from the heart for free," Bagnola said.
He said the current endeavor teaches students proper lighting and sound techniques, the handling of large groups and mental preparation while building a sense of community.
"It's good to show our support and love for the soldiers," said Dennis Schneider, a junior.
Contributing time and resources are "one small way we can show our appreciation for all they [the military] are doing," Bagnola said.