The Florida College System Activities Association (FCSAA) hosts conferences every year for a variety of Florida college clubs, sports and other activity organizations.

This year, the FCSAA held its 64th annual Florida College System Publications Association (FCSPA) conference from Nov. 16 to Nov. 18 at Daytona State College.

Throughout the conference, there were 10 presentations over five split sessions. Each session was split between lectures on magazines and journalism publications, where guest speakers gave 45-minute presentations on their topics. Students could read about these presenters and choose which lecture they wanted to attend. Most of the guest speakers provided their contact information with permission for attendees to reach out to them for any personal inquiries about their career goals.

Although the independent sessions were a core part of the conference, there were more events for students to take part in.

The first day kicked off with a keynote address by Din Thomas, a former MMA fighter and SAG actor who interviewed Greg Watkins, the founder of AllHipHop.com and co-creator of KR38R, an AI-based music production app. The speakers also announced a photo competition where students could submit pictures they took throughout the conference.

On the last day, there was an advisor and student mixer where students from different colleges could mingle and play games. Following the mixers, there was a final joint presentation by speakers Niki Constantino, advisor of the art and literary magazine, the Eyrie from Tallahassee Community College, Reggie Grant, a Tallahassee Community College journalism professor and the Eyrie and Talon publications staff, who gave students advice on how to promote their college publications on their campuses, along with a workshop for students to talk about their ideas.

There was a photography contest during the final dinner of the conference, allowing students to show off their skills for the chance to win National Geographic photography books. An awards banquet followed to award students for their accomplishments in their college publications.

To finish off the entire conference, the final night featured a talent show, where students and club advisors alike sang farewell to the 64th annual conference. Even the president of the FCSPA joined in on the festivities.

College of Central Florida Awarded for Their Effort

Publications from colleges across Florida, including our own College of Central Florida, were given the opportunity to submit their published works for awards across a variety of categories. CF’s Citrus and Ocala campuses sent the student publications In the Write Mind, Imprints and Patriot Press to represent CF at the conference.

CF brought home three awards in total, with In the Write Mind being awarded for their Staff Page and Patriot Press being awarded for Elora Pfriender’s Sports Writing and In-Depth Reporting.

Now, with this year’s ending of the conferences and banquet, there was a final announcement by FCSPA president Zackary Cote, who also serves as the Imprints advisor and creative writing professor at CF’s Ocala campus.

FCSPA President Moves on from FCSAA

Come the end of July, current FCSPA President, Zackary Cote, will no longer be serving as the President and CF representative of the FCSPA.

“I was responsible, or am technically still responsible, for chairing all of the meetings involving my fellow publications advisors at every institution in Florida,” Cote stated. “I am responsible for setting up meetings and planning conferences with Kelly, the executive for the FCSAA, and the main duty of the president in that situation is to attend two meetings statewide with all of the leadership for every activity.”

Although he didn’t want to leave, his new position called for it and, with his leaving of the FCSPA, he will also be leaving Imprints. He expressed his concern of being unable to build relationships with the members of Imprints and interact with FCSPA faculty the same way he had previously.

“The relationship that you build in a club is different than a relationship you build with your fellow classmates,” said Cote. “You spend more time in their office or talking to them outside of traditional time, just talking about things that are maybe not class related. Maybe you’re asking for advice, asking for a letter of recommendation, sharing some kind of struggle for a different class that they don’t teach.”

In her final year at CF, Imprints member Allison Woller gave a speech after the banquet on behalf of all Imprints students as her farewell, reminding Cote how much he helped her and meant to her throughout her college and Imprints journey.

“Having the opportunity to attend the FCSPA conference was an amazing once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Woller stated when asked about her opinion of the event. “I enjoyed every second and made many awesome memories. Everyone, from the students attending to the guests presenting, were amazing and really nice. I attended all of the magazine sessions, and each one was extremely different from the others. The presenters also provided contact information for follow-up outside the conference.”

The conference wasn’t all business, though. Woller went on to share some fun memories from the weekend.

“My favorite part was the after-party awards banquet,” said Woller. “For anonymity purposes, let’s just say there is somebody at CF Ocala campus with a very impressive secret talent that had everyone’s jaws dropping.”

Undergoing Change in the FCSPA

Last year, during the 63rd annual conference, the FCSPA was undergoing some changes with new personnel and position shifts. Attendees expressed that this year’s conference was a better experience.

Cote saw this differently, however, stating, “While the conference earlier in the spring wasn’t perhaps everyone’s favorite, it definitely was a learning experience for everyone involved, not just the person who ran the conference. So, I guess the short answer is that the spring conference walked so that this fall conference could run.”

Now, in the midst of Cote’s departure, the FCSPA is still deciding whether the 65th annual conference will be held in the Fall or Spring of 2024. Although next year will coincide with another shift in positions, the conference will still be happening, which is something all Florida college campus publications can look forward to.