Long before I left for summer school at Oxford or enrolled at Washington and Lee for college, my parents started to save. In this months Trea$ury Note$, the monthly broadcast of West Virginia State Treasurer John Perdue, my father and I walk through the process of just how easy college savings can be.

Click here to view the episode.

I’ve enjoyed the likes of those whose voices are just pleasant to listen to: James Earl Jones, Casey Kasem, and the guy whose voice narrated every movie every written, to name a few. There’s now a new name to add to the list. Ted Williams was homeless just days ago. He stood next to the road, advertising his golden voice. Needless to say, his voice lives up to the claim.

An honorably discharged Army veteran, recovered alcohol and drug addict, and proud father and grandfather, Williams has gone from the streets of Columbus Ohio to having job offers from around the world. I can’t wait to see this story unfold, but here is one of Ted’s first interviews:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWG6zNf4xY0 (Update: Due to the rights of this video, this video cannot be embeded in this post.)

The movie trailer guy is Don LaFontaine, by the way. A video of him, I can embed:

When Robert E. Lee assumed the presidency of Washington College, now known as Washington and Lee University, he bestowed upon the school an atmosphere of trust, removing all formal rules but imposing just one: “Every student must be a gentleman.” Today, this value translates into the Washington and Lee Honor System.

The Honor System of Washington and Lee is one of the most guarded traditions of the university. A completely student-run system, the Honor System insures that the W&L diploma is only earned honorably. Last Saturday, as thousands have done before me, I signed the Honor System book, pledging that I will uphold the values of the university. More importantly, however, each student at W&L takes the same pledge which truly leads to a community of trust.

The 2002-2003 Washington and Lee Executive Committee (President Gerald Titus happens to hail from West Virginia) compiled two videos which are currently used during the orientation of the Honor System for first-year students. They contain a great deal of information and can found below:

As one who is interested in business and law, I registered for politics and economics classes and picked up calculus and a writing seminar to complement. I also had my first experience of sticker shock after purchasing my textbooks.

This week has been great. I’m sad to see it come to a close, but happy to know that I will be spending the next four years in Lexington with the great people that I have met and will meet very soon.

The Amazon Kindle, an electronic reader sold by Amazon.com, now includes blogs among its many types of media that can be downloaded from the Kindle Store. As a blog writer, I couldn’t resist checking into how I could publish my blog through the Kindle Store. When I found the publishing site, the registration took less than 15 minutes to submit.

After checking the status of the submission this evening, I saw that my blog was accepted into the Kindle Store (for what it is worth). The whole idea behind Amazon offering blogs on the Kindle is great. I would, however, like to remove the premium that Amazon placed on my blog. Nevertheless, it is still neat to be published on Amazon. Maybe one day my writings will be worth something… (And just in case you believe that they are, I am a rising first-year college student who would be most appreciative of your support. But I would never shamelessly advertise my blog or the 14-day risk free trial. That’s just not me.)

View my blog on the Kindle Store.

Youth honored during mid-year convention

August 15, 2010 – By ANGELINA DICKSON, Staff writer

YOUTH HONORED — Students from throughout West Virginia were honored Saturday during the Order of the Elks mid-year meeting hosted at the Holiday Inn, Weirton. Awards were given, ranging from $1,000 to $12,000 in scholarships. Pictured is Vince Gurrera, West Virginia Elks president; Breanna Nolan, Taylor Nicholas, Katie Palmer, Rachael Nolan, Chelsea Wells, Lisa Liang, Lauren Dittebrand, Victoria Fratini, Christian Cummings, Dylan Reynolds, Landon Herrick, Christian Martine and Michael Smith, national president. - Angelina Dickson

WEIRTON – The West Virginia Order of the Elks presented students with scholarship awards during the mid-year convention hosted at the Holiday Inn in Weirton on Saturday.

Although not all students being honored were able to attend, three groups of winners were honored – Americanism essay contest winners, Teenager of the Year and scholarship winners.

One young man, Landon Herrick from New Martinsville, gained national recognition by placing fifth on the national level. He was awarded a $12,000 to be distributed over the course of four years.

Herrick said he plans to attend West Virginia University where he will major in pre-pharmacy.

“I am very honored to be the first to receive national scholarship from the Elks,” he said, “and I’m proud to represent the Elks association.”

Christian Martine of Daniels, near Beckley, another scholarship winner, said he was humbled and honored to receive the award.

“Each chapter of the organization raises money given straight from the hearts of those who wish to help,” he said. “I’m very grateful.”

Martine plans to attend Washington and Lee University where he hopes to plan for a career in law, business and politics.

Awards were given ranging from $1,000 to $12,000 in scholarships to other students in attendance including Breanna Nolan, Taylor Nicholas, Katie Palmer, Rachael Nolan, Chelsea Wells, Lisa Liang, Lauren Dittebrand, Victoria Fratini, Christian Cummings and Dylan Reynolds.

(Dickson can be contacted at adickson@weirtondailytimes.com)

http://www.weirtondailytimes.com/page/content.detail/id/548033/Elks-award-student-scholarships.html?nav=5006

The Mountaineer – Salutatorian Speech Script

View Register-Herald article: Shady Spring seniors take next step

For the past couple of years, I have had the pleasure of serving on the West Virginia Partnership to Promote Community Well-Being. The WV Partnership is “A Statewide Alliance Working to Address Substance Abuse and Related Issues in West Virginia.“ I served in the capacity as a state high school student and was able to give perspective from a student’s point of view on issues involving substance abuse. Below was my letter of resignation that I gave at the second quarterly meeting of the WV Partnership:

Friday, July 16, 2010

Christian A. Martine
283 Far Country Drive
Daniels, WV 25832-9008

VIA HAND DELIVERY
Mr. Mike Lacy, Chair
WV Partnership to Promote Community Well-Being

Dear Mr. Lacy:

Pursuant to the provisions of Executive Order Number 8-04, I hereby notify you that I have graduated from Shady Spring High School and therefore no longer qualify to serve as a “representative currently a student at a State high school” on the West Virginia Partnership to Promote Community Well-Being.

Serving on the West Virginia Partnership has been an honor and a privilege during my tenure. I am proud to be a part of a group whose mission is as noble as it is essential to the continuity of the quality of life in our great State.

Through the joint cooperation of state and local leaders, the West Virginia Partnership has been and will continue to be a resource in the fight against substance abuse. I hope that I have been of service to the Governor and to the West Virginia Partnership by bringing the point of view of a student and youth activist striving for a healthier and safer life for West Virginians.

Thank you for being a wonderful facilitator to the West Virginia Partnership. I wish you and all members a blessed career of service. With kindest personal regards, I am

Very truly yours,

Christian A. Martine

cc: The Honorable Joe Manchin, III
Governor

View original letter

As a member of the West Virginia SADD Student Leadership Council, we have retreats to plan out the annual conference. This year, our retreat is at Pipestem Resort State Park. It’s now day 2 of our leadership retreat.

Pipestem has many activities, but you would never guess just which activity caused the yellow caution tape to be placed where a window was at one time. Believe it or not, it was not ping pong.  Our council was participating in an icebreaker that of which a small group must open a t-shirt that has been dipped in water and frozen. It is each group’s goal to open the frozen t-shirt in the shortest amount of time and have one of the group members wear it.

Everything was going alright until a t-shirt was placed in a bag and slung against a stone wall. I first thought that is was a great idea since much of the ice would break off. The only unforseen problem was that the bag had a hole in it. I happened to turn around at just the moment that the t-shirt released from the confines of the bag and went through the glass window. Although the young lady that broke the glass didn’t find the whole ordeal amusing, the rest of us are left with a nice memory of trying to explain to a security guard that “a frozen t-shirt when through the window.”

A graduating high school senior in West Virginia, who is already handling announcer duties for state basketball playoffs, has been named the 2009-2010 P.A. Student Announcer of the Year by the National Association of Sports Public Address Announcers (NASPAA).  The NASPAA P.A. Announcer of the Year Awards Program provides high schools and colleges the opportunity to pay tribute to their P.A. announcers.

Besides announcing boys and girls basketball for Shady Spring High School, Martine has also announced West Virginia boys basketball state playoffs for the past three years.  He has received NASPAA P.A. announcing certification.

“I was ecstatic and felt deeply honored when I heard that I was selected for the award,” remarked Martine.  “It’s wonderful to receive such a great honor for doing something that I love.”

“Christian is determined to be non-biased and promote good sportsmanship,” said Deanna Wood, Martine’s athletic director for Shady Spring (WV) High School.  “He carefully prepares for each event and works with coaches to make sure he correctly pronounces each player’s name.”

“This year’s award recipient has distinguished himself by the quality of his announcing and his professionalism,” commented Brad Rumble, NASPAA Executive Director.  “The NASPAA is delighted to be in a position to recognize Christian.  He truly represents the best in P.A. announcing.”

The NASPAA is a professional association for sports public address announces with a mission to raise the level of professionalism of announcing.  The awards program is sponsored by Clell Wade Coaches Directory and Balfour.

Click here to view the press release.

View soundbites on the NASPAA Web site or here.