In 1994, the idea of Cougar Vision was born. Cathy Nichols and Billie Jo Roy were given the monumental task of setting up a broadcasting studio. With little communications background and only a $4,000 budget, Nichols and Roy spent many hours visiting other schools' studios, researching which equipment to purchase, and setting up fundraisers. By Chistmas, the students had brought the total budget to $10,000. "Santa" found a complete commercial editing system that fit or budget and taping for the first show began in January of 1995. The father of one of our students built a news desk, a local business company donated flats for background sets, and Mrs. Roy's sister-in-law donated carpet for our regular classroom/studio. (For two years, English classes also met in the studio - very congested!!!)

(Mrs. Roy and Mrs. Nichols)

      At first, Cougar Vision consisted of a weekly 20 minute show, set to a specific theme and covering the school's news and activities. We only had one camera and had to take an edited tape to the library to be broadcast on Channel 1 to the student body. Our shows were a huge success, and when registration came in March, we had more than 80 applicants for about 20 positions.

      For the 1995-96 year, Mrs Nichols taught Cougar Vision by herself. (Mrs. Roy took a leave of absence to be an evalutor for the State Department of Education) It was a fun year, and the program flourished even more.

      The 1996-97 and 1997-98 staffs were extremely creative. The student body looked forward to each Friday's show, especially to Hall Cops and Saturday Night Live. The artistic students even tried clay animation, which was a huge success. Live daily announcements became a reality in 1998, which increased our popularity and following. Our 1^st awards banquet was held and was a fun time for all.

      Our greatest advancement came in the 1998-99 school year when we were able to purchase a Casablanca computer editing system. Those countless late night hours spent editing on the old linear system suddenly dwindled to an occasional Thursday night of ordering in pizza and editing. Jordan Goulder also authored our WebSite.

      We are excited about the future of Cougar Vision. We are going to compete for grants and hope to get bigger and better. One day, maybe the program will expand to more than one class, and the students can coop in the real world.