The proposal outlines plans for the James B. Dykes Communicator Awards Banquet and Student Film Festival organized by III Oaks Studios. Key details include: - Hosting the event in the new Communication Studio to save costs and showcase the department. - Including a student film component where students can submit work in categories like PSAs, films, documentaries and music videos. - Presenting alumni and faculty awards as well as awards for top students in concentrations like broadcast journalism, PR, and photojournalism. - Coordinating closely between student leaders and faculty to ensure a smooth execution that gives students practical experience and takes pride in their work.

1. The Communication Department
The James B. Dykes Communicator Awards Banquet
and Student Film Festival
Presented by III Oaks Studios 2015-2016
PROPOSAL
Created and Edited by K. Dominic McKenzie, CEO.
III OAKS STUDIOS
‘The Take Over’

2. EXECUTIVE CABINET
2015-2016
K. Dominic McKenzie, Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Brandon Pridgett, Chief Operations Officer (COO)
T. Mahalia Latortue, Production Manager
Nkenge Jones, Director of Programming
Paulette Gates, Sponsor
Dwyane Cheddar, Sponsor
PROPOSAL
We propose the following:-
1) The event will be held in the brand new Communication Studio. For most alumni,
this will be the first opportunity they will have to witness their investment at work.
Also, this will save the departmental budget a large sum, usually designated to
renting a venue and the costs related. Food will be served in the room adjoining

3. the studio so as to avoid any spillage on studio carpets, and brought to patrons
by waiters/waitresses.
2) The event should be revamped to include not only an Alumni Award component,
but a Student Film component. This will allow the department a chance to
showcase its students’ work to our visitors, which in turn creates an atmosphere
of fulfillment, pride and respect. The film festival will be confined to a 30-40
minute slot in the evening’s program. A more specific time will be determined
after student submissions have been received and vetted by III Oaks. Students
will be asked to submit work examples produced in class from the following
categories:- PSA’s, Short Films, Documentaries and/or Music Videos.
a. By allowing students this avenue to showcase their work, this will help
create a vested interest in the program because they will want to see their
work on the big screen, as well as making an attempt to correct the
students’ low level of passion and work ethic.
3) A committee of Faculty members and one Student representative will collectively
decide on the Alum being awarded. Awardee(s) should be selected strategically,
keeping in mind the time in which he/she graduated from Oakwood, and the
length of time he/she has been working as a communicator. Other requirements
can be determined by the Committee. We are of the opinion that there is still
enough time to progress with the selection of an Alum to honor at this program,
and are of the opinion that we should progress with this aspect of the program.
4) The event will act as an opportunity for Alumni to interact closely with their
classmates, allowing them a chance to reminisce on the fond memories of old.

4. 5) The event will allow faculty an opportunity to award students for high levels of
accomplishment within their respective fields of instruction. Through this, a
healthy spirit of competition is created amongst students that can result in higher
levels of productivity, output and academic success. Categories are:- Broadcast
Journalism Student of the Year (Male/Female), Public Relations Student of the
Year (Male/Female), Photo-Journalism Student of the Year (Male/Female), Print
Journalism Student of the Year (Male/Female)and Communication Arts Student
of the Year (Male/Female). Students will be able to receive more than one
award. This Faculty committee will have sole responsibility for ordering trophies
so that the III Oaks Committee will not be privy to the awardees. Students in
these categories can be selected from any classification and must have a GPA
above 2.5 to be eligible.
6) An additional award category ‘Student of the Year - Male/Female’ will be
restricted to Communication seniors. (The senior has 93+ credit hours
completed at Oakwood University). These students must have a GPA above 3.0
and shown continued growth and interest in his/her area of study, beginning at
enrolment in the Department. These students exhibit great potential for success
post-graduation and should be an example for rising seniors, juniors and
sophomores. The ideal candidate should have contributed to the enrichment of
the department and have traits such as:- the ability to motivate self and others,
integrity and balance. He/she should be a good example of who the Department
of Communication students are being trained to be - ‘Consecrated
Communicators for Christ’.

5. 7) The event will include a Faculty of the Year award that will be voted on by the
students. This award will be called the “III Oaks Studios Faculty Award for
Excellence”.
8) We propose a trophy is purchased for display in the Communication Department
Main office that will display the names of the Student of the Year (Male and
Female). This will give students something to look forward to in upcoming years,
and help them understand the quality they must possess to make it in this
competitive field. The trophy will have a space suggesting the III Oaks Studios
Cabinet 2015-2016 commissioned the idea. After awardees receive their
individual trophies, the display trophy will be revealed with awardees names
already engraved. The trophy is an investment and will have space for students
who will be awarded in coming years, to be displayed.
9) Student leadership (led by III Oaks) working congruently with Faculty will create
a smooth execution of this event. Students will feel a part of something great,
and will look forward to presenting more events of this nature in the future.
10) We propose collaborating closely with the Oakwood University Alumni
Association to promote the Alumni Banquet We will ask for our Banquet Flyer to
be sent out ASAP through whichever medium the Association presently uses to
communicate with Alumni. Upon approval, we will send the banquet information
to the OUAA to be published on the Schedule of Events page in the weekend
program.
11) Students will see that faculty have a high level of trust in them to put on this
event. In order to create a heightened spirit of interest and success amongst

6. students, they should be given opportunities like these to exhibit skills taught to
them in the classroom. Practical experience, while having their professors
alongside the action to assist, will definitely help prepare the student for the
world. Although event-planning isn’t a class taught, we believe this will teach
important skills that may set the student apart from the rest. This will also allow
classes behind to look forward to planning and executing their own in the coming
years.
12) For each task requiring attention (i.e. Media, Protocol [ushering] , PR etc.), a
student leader will be assigned to put a team together to complete these tasks
efficiently.
13) As an incentive to student participation, we propose an addition to curriculum
wherein students can get practical experience in their field of study, and receive
extra credit for the classes they’re registered in for that semester. Mrs. Conwell
and Mr. Cheddar have already expressed interest in integrating this into their
syllabi.
14) We are proposing a ticketed system to ensure that we do not overfill the studio.
Students are required to secure a spot to attend the function. This will be done
by placing sign-up sheet in the Main Office for students to place their names.
The week of the banquet, these students will be contacted via phone to confirm
their attendance. On the night of the banquet, they will be asked to show
identification before admittance is permitted. This system will assist us in
ensuring we have enough spots to accommodate our alumni when they attend.
15) This event is not open to children below the age of 16 years.

7. 16) The above-mentioned information will serve as the framework for how the
banquet is produced in coming years, should III Oaks be a part of its execution
and presentation.
THE BANQUET
The banquet will be held on the Sunday, March 27, 2016 at 6:30PM in the
Communication Studio. Cocktails would begin at 5:30PM. It will last
until 8:30PM.
Invitations will be sent to:-
1) Presidents Council (8)
2) Alumni Honoree (2)
3) OUBN Director (3)
4) Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences (2)
5) George Johnson - PR (2)
6) Kyle Smith- USM President
7) Kaylah Joseph- Miss UNCF
8) Mr. and Miss Oakwood University
9) ____________________________
10) ____________________________
Spaces to be reserved for
1) Faculty/Staff (14)
2) III Oaks (4)
3) Student Honorees (12)
4) ____________________________
5) ____________________________
6) ____________________________
7) ____________________________
8) ____________________________
9) ____________________________
10) ____________________________
Total Reserved: ___

8. James B. Dykes Communicator Awards and Student Film Festival
2016 Banquet Expense Sheet
Item 2016 Vendor 2016 Cost SUBTOTAL
Décor All Needz Rental
(see attached
estimate)
$1302.00 $1302.00
Facility Rental Peters Media Center $0.00
Food Mei Wei Asian Bistro
** (see below for note)
$702.68 $702.68
Alumni Award Crown Trophy for 1
awardee.
(see attached email)
$50 (20% of cost
for engraving)
$60
Faculty Award Crown Trophy for 1
awardee.
(see attached email)
$50 (20% of cost
for engraving)
$60
Student Awards Crown Trophy
for 14 awards
* 10 Concentration
awards
* 3 Specialized
$282.50 (engraving
cost is free)
$282.50

9. awards
(see attached email)
Total Projected
Expense
$2,407.18
** Mei Wei wasunable to provide us with a printed quote/estimate as requested. We visited in
store and we were provided the cost after we selected food items. After said process was
complete, a photo was taken of the cash register as proof of transaction. Please see photo below.
Above- Mei Wei Cash Register. Anextra $10 charge will be applied for set-up of food with warmers,
and post-banquet pick-up and clean up of area.

10. PRODUCTION TEAM
Executive Producers
Dr. R. Rennae Elliott
Dwyane Cheddar
K. Dominic McKenzie
Producers
K. Dominic McKenzie (assigned to oversee Concentration Committees)
Brandon Pridgett (Assigned to oversee Production of Show)
Production Manager
T. Mahalia Latortue (assigned to oversee program management)
Asst. Production
Nkenge Jones (assigned to oversee program management)
Director
Michael Boyd
Asst to Director
Onyx Brown
Camera Operators (Dr. Cheddar’s Television Production class[curriculum additive])
Jib
Tairik Smith-Tweed
Sound
Kyle Smith
Floor Manager

11. (From Dr. Cheddar’s Television Production class)
Teleprompter
(From Dr. Cheddar’s Television Production class)
Tech Support
Kyle Davis
Program Manager
Antonio McFadden
Public Relations Team Heads (or otherwise suggested by PR Chair)
Tyler Brown
Nandi Brooks
Photo-Journalism TeamHeads (or otherwise suggested by Photo-Journalism chair)
Geordi Thomas
Teymi Townsend
Print Journalism TeamHead (or otherwise suggested by Print Journalism chair)
Esther Smith
Hospitality/Protocol TeamHead
Paulette Gates
Nkenge Jones
Set-up Crew
Alex Rose
Mickale Nelson
Barrington Taylor
Asia Boles
Kenalia
Demetrius Brown
Jasmine Bartholomew
Anthony Williams
Michael Boyd
K. Dominic McKenzie
Brandon Pridgett
Mahalia Latortue
Nkenge Jones
Paulette Gates
Kyle Davis
Thamar Pericles

12. Program
5:30- COCKTAIL HOUR COMMENCES
5:30 – 6:20 – Cocktails are served and meet and greet takes place between Alum and
Students
Countdown on screen begins at 6:00pm
STAGE AUDIO
6:20
6:30
6:31
6:31
6:33
Opening Prayer
Mrs. Angel Baron
30sec
STAGE LIGHTS DIP TO
BLACK
Cue Department Promo
STAGE LIGHTS BLACK
A P P L A U S E
VO: “Ladies and Gentlemen, before we
begin, please silence all cellular
devices so as to not disturb the
evening’s proceedings. Thank you”.
MONTAGE AUDIO
Ked VO: “Ladies and Gentlemen, we
welcome you to the 9th Annual James
B. Dykes Communicator Awards
Banquet.
Promo Audio
Please welcome MC for this evening’s
proceedings, Chief Operating Officer of
III Oaks Studios, Mr. Brandon Pridgett.

13. 6:31
6:35
6:45
6:55
6:58
7:05
7:35
7:40
Lights up on stage
MC Program Introduction
Brandon Pridgett
WELCOME
● Department of
Communication
Representative
● III Oaks Studios CEO-
K. Dominic McKenzie
State of the Department - Dr.
Rennae Elliott*
MC Transition
Introduction to Film Festival
Nora Blake Smith* and Elijah
Leftridge* (we can change this
if needs be)
FOOD IS SERVED
Film Festival begins.
MC Transition to Awards
segment
Introduction to Student
Awards and Criteria - Dr.
Victoria Joiner and (student
name)
Awards will be presented in
this order:
Communication Arts Student
of the Year (Male/Female)
● Presented by Comm
Arts Chair
Print Journalism Student of
the Year (Male/Female)
● Presented by Print
Journalism Chair
A P P L A U S E
A P P L A U S E
A P P L A U S E
A P P L A U S E
A P P L A U S E
FILM FESTIVAL

14. 8:20
8:30
8:33
8:35
Photo Journalism Student of
the Year (Male/Female)
● Presented by Photo
Journalism Chair
Broadcast Journalism Student
of Year (Male/Female)
● Presented by
Broadcast Journalism
Chair
Public Relations Student of
the Year (Male/Female)
● Presented by PR Chair
Student of the Year (Male)
● Presented by
Department Chair and
Academic Vice
President*
Student of the Year (Female)
● Presented by
Department Chair and
Academic Vice
President*
Faculty of the Year
● Presented by III Oaks
Studios CEO and
Student Rep from
Concentration of faculty
awarded.
Alumni Honoree
Bio read by Dr. Elliott
Presented by Dr. Elliott and
Academic Vice President*.
Alumni Greeting and
Response
Closing Remarks - Faculty
Rep.
MC Closing Remarks

15. Closing Prayer - Student Rep.