Governor Crist Invites Students to Participate in Sunshine Week Essay Contest

TALLAHASSEE – Governor Charlie Crist today announced Florida’s 2009 Sunshine Week “Government in the Sunshine” Web site and invited Florida students in grades 9-12 to participate in the Florida Sunshine Week essay contest. Sunshine Week, March 15-21, 2009, celebrates the State of Florida’s dedication to making state and local government more accessible to the public.

“Transparency and openness within all levels of government are crucial to the best services to citizens,” Governor Crist said. ”Sunshine Week is an excellent time for Florida’s students to learn more about government accountability and good government.”

About the Essay Contest

The essay contest is open to all Florida school students in grades 9-12, and winners will be notified the week of March 9, 2009. The first place winner will receive a $3,500 scholarship, the second place winner will receive a $2,000 scholarship, and third place will receive a $1,500 scholarship. All winners will be invited to attend an event at the Governor’s Mansion. The essay topic is: “Describe the various public records available under Florida's open government laws and how access to these records strengthens citizens' civil rights and liberties.”
Guidelines

• Each student may enter only one essay, no longer than 500 words and typed or handwritten in print, rather than cursive writing.
• Essays must include the student’s name, home address, telephone number, school the student attends, grade level and essay title.
o Essays must be accompanied by a parental waiver form, which can be found at www.flgov.com/og_sunshine. For electronic entries, the parental waiver may be typed, but if chosen as a winner it will be verified.

Entries must be e-mailed to SunshineEssay@myflorida.com or mailed to the Executive Office of the Governor, Attention: Sunshine Week Essay Contest, 400 South Monroe Street, The Capitol, Suite PL-04, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0001. Entries must be received or postmarked no later than 5:00 p.m. EST on Monday, February 23, 2009.

About Sunshine Week

In 2002, Sunshine Sunday was launched by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors in response to increased public and legislative awareness of the open government laws. After Florida’s trailblazing actions to establish Sunshine Laws, many other states have adopted Sunshine Sunday, which resulted in the American Society of Newspaper

Editors designating a Sunshine Week, which started in March of 2005.
Governor Crist’s dedication to Sunshine Laws is clearly evident. In his inaugural address, Florida’s 44th Governor made open government a top priority. He quoted President Abraham Lincoln, pledging that under his watch Florida government would be “of the people, by the people and for the people.” The next day, in his first Executive Order, Governor Crist established the Office of Open Government and charged it with providing the Governor’s office and all state agencies the tools necessary to serve the people of Florida in a professional and efficient manner.

For more information, please visit http://www.flgov.com/og_home.