The idea was born more than three years ago when former Middleburg High School football and NFL star Richard Owens collaborated with Middleburg head coach Rob Justino to start an annual football camp, now in its third year the Faith Football Camp has grown leaps and bounds from the inaugural event.

“Each year the camp has grown, we started with 140 kids the first year,” said Justino. “The following year we had 160 and this year we went over the 180 mark. It’s really a special kind of camp.”

Along with Owens, current Carolina Panthers tight end and former Middleburg prep star Gary Barnidge, Arena Football player Tony Stallings and college football studs Joey Novatosky and Glenn Oliver

It all started with tryouts in February and two thoughts were on the mind of the team and manager Tom George which was to win the Florida State Championship and the USSSA World Series, and after 54 total games with a record of 40-14 the Heat have moved one step closer to accomplishing both goals by recently winning the Florida State Championship in Orlando when they totally overwhelmed the competition outscoring their opponents 49 to 4.

CLAY HILL -- When Morgan Groover was in first grade, she used to go out to the school yard every Tuesday afternoon, stand on a marked spot on the sidewalk, and take a photograph of a large Elm tree. 

It was the fall season, and Morgan photographed the tree as it went from full bloom to the leaves turning color and falling on the ground. She continued taking photographs into winter when the tree was completely bare through February when the tree started to bud again. After she finished taking the sequence of photographs, she printed and laid them out, deleted some, and loaded the rest onto a computer.  She then added titles, music, and voice overs, and she produced an award-winning video. 

ORANGE PARK -- The Rotary Club of Orange Park recently honored three St. Johns Country Day School seniors it felt are scholar athletes. Receiving the awards were, from left, James Agee, Erin Standish and Justine Quick. The awards cite the students’ scholastic and athletic achievements as well as community service efforts. Agee was involved in Youth Leadership Jacksonville, assisted at youth football camp and was a National Honor Society tutor; Standish was a National Honor Society tutor and was a Clay County Dental Care Clinic volunteer; and Quick worked at Black Creek Veterinary Clinic and was a volunteer youth soccer trainer. School representative Rod Cox presented the awards.