2010 Florida History Fair
State Contest Winners

The following teacher and students received awards at the Florida History Fair state competition Awards Ceremony on May 4, 2010. Florida’s Teacher of Merit recipient is nominated for the National History Day PBS Teacher of Merit Award.

Teacher of Merit

  • Dennis Dill
    McKeel Academy, Lakeland (Polk County)

Mr. Dill is and always has been Mister History Fair at McKeel Academy in Lakeland. He began the program there eight years ago, starting with just his seventh graders. He has coordinated the program ever since and expanded it to grades 7 to 11. Some seniors choose to participate just because they want to, not for any assignment or grade. Students competing in Florida History Fair were the driving force behind McKeel Academy’s beginning to offer an Advanced Placement U.S. History class. Many graduates come back and tell Mr. Dill how much they learned from history fair research and his encouragement. As one colleague says about Mr. Dill, "He shows students that history is not a dull subject to dread, but rather the exact opposite. It is full of conflict, compromise, conspiracy, and sometimes even a little comedy."

Junior Historical Paper

1st Place
Alexis Gonsalves
Dr. Jonas Salk and the Polio Vaccine: Spectacular End to an Epidemic
Farnell Middle School (Hillsborough)
Teacher: Gene Hazel
2nd Place
Valerie Segebre
An Innovation in History: The Laser
Murdock Middle School (Charlotte)
Teacher: Darren Lamons
3rd Place
Marcellus Mitchell
Dr. Charles Richard Drew & The Innovation of the Blood Bank
River City Science Academy (Duval)
Teacher: Micah Dyal

Senior Historical Paper

1st Place
Rebecca Kass
Harnessing the Atom: Innovation in Warfare
Shorecrest Preparatory School (Pinellas)
Teacher: Ronald Heller
2nd Place
Madison Chapman
The CNN Story: The Innovation and Impact of the 24-hour News Broadcast
Home School (Manatee)
Teacher: Deborah Chapman
3rd Place
Kieran Wilson
Innovating the Current of History: How Nikola Tesla electrified the World
Seminole High School (Seminole)
Teachers: Natalie Gavarrette, Rebekah Maggio, Linda Moise

Junior Individual Documentary

1st Place
Rory Petersen
Innovation During the American Civil War in Transporting the Wounded
Darnell-Cookman Middle School (Duval)
Teachers: Mary Ellen McDonald, Elizabeth Stansel
2nd Place
Kayley Erickson
Floating Fortresses: The Innovation of Ironclads
Swift Creek Middle School (Leon)
Teacher: Grace Bigelow
3rd Place
Nikki Mariutto
Innovations of Motown Records: How Music Changed America
American Heritage School (Broward)
Teacher: Leslie Porges

Junior Group Documentary

1st Place
Natalie Jones, Cara Mason
Glass: Looking Through a Window of Time
Swift Creek Middle School (Leon)
Teacher: Grace Bigelow
2nd Place
Katie Harrington, Jenna Loomar
Special Olympics: Bravery in the Attempt
American Heritage School (Broward)
Teacher: Leslie Porges
3rd Place
Lindsey King, Marina Petersen
A British Invasion: Music Technology That Changed the World
Montford Middle School (Leon)
Teacher: Stacy Kramer

Senior Individual Documentary

1st Place
Haley Bookout
DNA: Unlocking the Tomb of the Unknowns
Pensacola Catholic High School (Escambia)
Teacher: Britt Brockinton
2nd Place
Sara Jackson
Gabrielle "CoCo" Chanel: Innovation of Modner Women's Fashion
Fort Myers High School (Lee)
Teacher: Russell Sousa
3rd Place
Jenna Seckar
Tarpon Springs Sponge Industry
East Lake High School (Pinellas)
Teacher: Alan Kay

Senior Group Documentary

1st Place
Alex Horden, Alex Saltiel, Jack Stein
The Integrated Circuit
Shorecrest Preparatory School (Pinellas)
Teacher: Ronald Heller
2nd Place
Katie Burns, David Hastings
A Credit to Our Generation
Seacrest Country Day School (Collier)
Teacher: John Heers
3rd Place
Samantha Fields, Lauren Linda, Sarah Lynn
Case Closed: The Innovation of DNA In Court
Milton High (Santa Rosa)
Teacher:

Junior Individual Performance

1st Place
Grayson "Kael" Madison
Turbo Power "Jets in Time"
Woodham Middle School (Escambia)
Teacher: Summer Demilly
2nd Place
Delaney Evans
RADAR
Diplomat Middle School (Lee)
Teacher: Jill Hooks
3rd Place
Elliott Riches
The Long-lasting Incandescent Light Bulb: Lighting its Way into History
American Heritage School (Broward)
Teacher: Leslie Porges

Junior Group Performance

1st Place
Widline Castor, Morgan Cook, Alexis Rojas, Chloe Wilson
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Time Warp of Justice
Diplomat Middle School (Lee)
Teachers: Jill Hooks, Caroline Toadvine
2nd Place
Riley Farrow, Kimberly Ferguson, Brittyn Hamer, Logan Saliga
Life in Plastic is Fantastic: The Innovation of the Blonde, Blue-eyed, Bombshell Barbie
Tuskawilla Middle School (Seminole)
Teachers: Rebekah Maggio, Linda Moise
3rd Place
Vineeta Kapil, Shreya Mohan, Leena Sanka, Erin Seu
Printer Night . . . At the Museum
James Weldon Johnson Middle School (Duval)
Teacher: R. Wayne Fortuna

Senior Individual Performance

1st Place
Taylor Gianangelo
Insulin: Miracle in a Bottle
East Lake High School (Pinellas)
Teacher: Alan Kay
2nd Place
Megan Rasmussen
Just A Dream Away: The Innovations and Technologies of Walt Disney
Spruce Creek High School (Volusia)
Teacher: Jason Caros
3rd Place
Angelina Barnard
Words Can Hurt Too: The Innovative Research of Dr. Dan Olweus
Manatee High School (Manatee)
Teacher: Peggy Gardiner

Senior Group Performance

1st Place
Jalen Benson, Savannah Green, Dennis Hornsby II, Amanda Patton
The GI Bill: An Innovative Congressional Act that Redefined the Middle Class
Pensacola High School (Escambia)
Teacher: Tracy Brown
2nd Place
Malik Ali, Ashlee Burns, Melissa Tate
The Telephone: A Communication Connection
B.T. Washington High School (Escambia)
Teacher: Walter Gulley, Jr.
3rd Place
Hallie Abelman, Tatiana Baccari, Rachel Burns, Austin Fuss, Crawford Hunt
The Pill: Controversy, Innovation and Legacy
Shorecrest Preparatory School (Pinellas)
Teacher: Ronald Heller

Junior Individual Exhibit

1st Place
Rose Bruno
Braille: Connecting the Dots from Darkness to Light
Sacred Heart Home Educators (Leon)
Teacher: Lynn Mangan
2nd Place
Meredith Bush
Stay Cool: Artificial Ice Machine and Mechanical Refrigeration
Surfside Middle School (Bay)
Teachers: Kathy Easom, Steve Grice
3rd Place
Shannon Hicks
The Preservation Pioneer: Theodore Roosevelt as an Innovation in Conservation
Merritt Brown Middle School (Bay)
Teachers: Susan Granberg, Candace Leebrick, Christine Sermons

Junior Group Exhibit

1st Place
Gabrielle Clune, Dale Margaret Gibson
Dr. Ice: Air Conditioning
St. Paul Catholic School (Escambia)
Teacher: Lori Cuevas
2nd Place
Sam Nassab, Michaela Oglesby
Innovations in Voting Technology
Nolan Middle School (Manatee)
Teacher: Diane Vestrand
3rd Place
Lexa Armstrong, Michaela Polmann
The Innovation of the Pony Express: Giddyup, It's Mail Time
Dunedin Highland Middle School (Pinellas)
Teacher: Cathie Chapman

Senior Individual Exhibit

1st Place
Katarina Espenscheid
Cardiovascular Surgery: Beating the Odds
Pensacola High School (Escambia)
Teacher: Heather Knight
2nd Place
Taryn Johnson
The Marine Chronometer
East Lake High School (Pinellas)
Teacher: Alan Kay
3rd Place
Jonah Sheffield
Writing A Revolution: The Impact and Change of Paper on a global scale
Nature Coast Technical High School (Hernando)
Teacher: Mona Johnson

Senior Group Exhibit

1st Place
Nathan Gupta, Nicholas Gupta
Muckraking: Exposing Corruption, Eliciting Reform, and Establishing Investigative Journalism
Pensacola High School (Escambia)
Teacher: Michael Jones
2nd Place
Clay Miller, Dillon Mink
Skyscrapers: America Grows Up
South Broward High School (Broward)
Teacher: Brian Nichols
3rd Place
Daniel Domingo, James Hall, Michael Jugan, Lauren Pellecchia, Grady Simon
Adam Smith: The Invisible Hand Seen throughout the World
Canterbury School (Lee)
Teacher: Ronald Young

Junior Web Site

1st Place
Nicholas Krostag
The Higgins Boat Changed Amphibious Warfare
Ransom Middle School (Escambia)
Teacher: Janet Enfinger
2nd Place
Sal Campisi, III, Julia Schindler
A Car for Every American: Henry Ford's Innovative Strategies
Lawton Chiles Middle Academy (Polk)
Teachers: Leon Williams, Marsha Yoder
3rd Place
Sierra Burris, Leah Sexton
FDR's Tree Army
Merritt Brown Middle School (Bay)
Teacher: Christine Sermons

Senior Web Site

1st Place
Marisa Facey, Bianca Mulaney
The Power of the Press
Bartow International Baccalaureate (Polk)
Teacher: Theodore Wright
2nd Place
Kylie Chiavuzzi, Robert Lockard, John Parks, Jorge Torre
Electrifying America
Summerlin Military Academy (Polk)
Teacher: Steven Hall
3rd Place
Megan Bridges, Savannah Clawson, Danielle McMeekin
Gandhi and the Salt Satyagraha
East Lake High School (Pinellas)
Teacher: Alan Kay