Award show and music festival to honor Dudley
Friday, February 24, 2012
By Stephanie Taylor
This year’s Creative Lightning Awards will recognize more than just students’ achievements in the arts, it will also honor the life of Monica Dudley. Dudley, the coordinator of OSU’s Retention Initiative for Student Excellence and Inclusion Leadership programs, died in a car accident earlier this month on Highway 33 near Coyle.
“Honoring her with this dedication is just a small token of our appreciation of all she has done for us,” said Dejuan McConnell, multimedia and strategic communications freshman. “It’s our appreciation for not only what she has done for us but for what her lessons and teachings will do for us in the future.”
The OSU Advertising Club created the competition as a way to highlight excellence in design, photography, illustration, advertising and more. Other sponsors of this year’s event include the Student Union Activities Board, Stillocal and Kicker.
The competition started seven years ago and was offered exclusively to OSU students. In 2009, the competition opened up to college students across the state, and this year the event has expanded to include all American Advertising Federation District 10 students, which includes students from universities in Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana. The AAF is the oldest advertising trade association with more than 200 college chapters.
McConnell, Ad Club and Freshman Action Team (one of the programs led by Dudley) member, proposed dedicating the award competition in her memory.
“I thought dedicating this event to Monica would give many of her students, who were all close to her, a sense of contentment and allow us to have a positive event as a way to celebrate life.”
White ribbons will be handed out at the door to commemorate Dudley. Donation buckets will also be passed throughout the night and all the money raised will go toward a scholarship established in Dudley’s honor beginning in the fall of 2012.
In addition to honoring Dudley’s life, this year’s CLA competition will also include a music festival to celebrate creativity and diversity, said Bobbi Kay Lewis, professor of media and strategic communications.
“We added music to the awards competition and wanted to recognize the award winners for their achievements and give them an exciting show deserving of their efforts,” Lewis said.
The featured artists come from all around the state and include Jabee, Eric Himan, Deer People, Redland, Musical Genius and OSU’s own Kellee Cooper.
One of the performers, Jabee, personally knew Dudley and will speak about the impact she had on his life, OSU and her students.
The CLAs will take place Friday, Feb. 24 from 7 to 10 p.m. in the Wes Watkins Center. Prior to the event OSU students can purchase tickets for $3 and general admission tickets are $5. At the door, student tickets will be $5 and general admission will be $7.