This past summer, the inaugural 2021 Water Environment Federation (WEF) Water Palooza video contest was hosted by the WEF Students and Young Professionals Committee (SYPC). Student entries were received from Illinois and Florida; member associations that each host their own respective video contests. And the grand prize winners were none other than the FWEA’s own 2021 first place high school video contest winners!

The FWEA Public Communications and Outreach Committee (PCOC) hosts an annual high school video contest and this past spring, awarded first place to Leo Meng and Hubert Pilichowski of Strawberry Crest High School (Hillsborough County) for their mock news skit titled, “Toilets Tonight”. The 45 second video featuring host, Lav A. Tory and lead reporter, Latrine Larry, is breaking news- the culprits of clogged toilets and sewers have been caught!

As winners of the FWEA video contest and now WEF video contest, Leo and Hubert will receive gift cards from United By Blue, a company that promotes sustainable materials and ethical manufacturing to lead the charge toward better business practices. The company pledges for every product purchased, one pound of trash is removed from the ocean or waterways. To learn more about the company and shop its products, please visit www.unitedbyblue.com.

And don’t forget to check out the WEF YouTube channel this fall to see all the video entries. To watch the Florida (and now national) winning video on the FWEA’s YouTube channel, click on the “High School Video Contest 2021” playlist and then select the video titled, “Toilets Tonight”.