Foxboro Cable Access, Inc.

Foxborough Academic All Stars Honored At Gillette Stadium

Recently elected Pro Football Hall of Famer and former star Patriots linebacker Andre Tippett urged 171 Foxborough High School students last Thursday at an Academic All Star awards ceremony at Gillette to persevere in their hopes and dreams. "Hope is a way of making dreams a reality," Tippett, who played 12 seasons with the Patriots, set a franchise record for sacks, was a member of the NFL's All-Decade Team of the 1980s and earned five consecutive Pro Bowl berths, said at the first New England Patriots/Foxborough High School Academic All Star awards ceremony held in Gillette's Fidelity Investments Clubhouse West overlooking the field.
   
"Don't ever be deterred from your goals and your vision," said Tippett. "You are all champions. Be proud of your name and your integrity, which are the most important possessions you have."
   
The awards ceremony, to be held annually at Gillette, was attended by close to 500 people. Parents, teachers and school administrators were all invited. All Stars in every class were given a personalized football trophy embossed with the Patriots and high school insignias to commemorate the event.
   
The Foxborough Academic All Star Team was proposed by the New England Patriots in partnership with the high school.

From the Foxboro Reporter, April 3, 2008 Edition
Reprinted with permission

By Frank Mortimer

Concerts, plays, dance recitals, and civic and other events staged in the Foxboro High School auditorium can now be covered by one of the most sophisticated television systems found in any public school in the country.

“After three years of working and configuring, it’s now a fully functioning control center,” Foxboro Cable Access executive director Mike Webber said Tuesday.

Weekend warriors
Working mostly on weekends, FCA volunteers, led by Paul Beck, technical advisor and chairman of the FCA board, have installed a complete television system featuring nine permanent cameras in the auditorium and a control room.

They pulled cable, built camera racks, and installed -- and repaired -- equipment.
Beck and Webber announced the completion of the project during Monday’s School
Committee meeting.

They obtained board permission to name the facility the FCA TV Center at Foxboro High School, and to hold a ribbon cutting at the control room at a date to be announced.

“Because its a permanently installed facility, it makes the set up time for music and other events much easier,” Webber said.

Previously, he said, a team of volunteers, using the FCA mobile unit, would spend four to five hours setting up cameras and other equipment for an event at the high school.

“It eliminates the whole setup process,” reducing preparation time to an hour to two hours, he said.

Foxboro students will be trained to use the equipment to cover performances and other student activities, including through courses already offered in the English and Art Departments.

Posted with author's permission...
By Robert Gillis - (Website)
Published in the Foxboro Reporter April, 2008

Today I thought I’d share a fun memory, an example of me doing something stupid (suspend your disbelief) and suggest another opportunity for YOU to volunteer to help the community and have a great time doing it.

It’s Thursday June 22, 2007 and I’m on Foxboro Common at the first of the annual Foxboro Jaycee concerts of the season.

A few years back, my friend Lauren (LB) Bitar, who works at Foxboro Cable Access (FCA), asked me if I would man a camera for the evening; that turned into a regular summer event for me.

I love working with FCA. Being one of the cameramen (or getting to direct the five-camera operation from the FCA mobile unit) is something I enjoy tremendously. It is a *BLAST* using the cameras from Foxboro Cable Access – the setup is completely professional and I get to play with the tech toys, learn the jargon, and have so much fun working side by side with people who do this for a living.

And the free Jaycee concerts are always a memorable time. It's wonderful to be out with everybody every Thursday night on the common, meeting old friends, seeing people get together for a night of free (and really good) music, noshing on popcorn and soda -- I love it.