The village’s board of trustees got an update on the progress of the video at last night’s board meeting. A campaign to acquire as many photos of activities in the village for inclusion in the promo began earlier this year.

Mayor Gordon Jumper says the theme of the video is what the village wants- something that can be used to market South Jacksonville on the Internet to potential businesses and residents.

Producer Allen Stare says so far, about 60 pictures are being used, featuring everything from McGruff the Crime Dog appearances to children playing at the Godfrey Park Water Toy. To make the 11-minute video appealing, however, he says he needs about 200 to 300 pictures.

“I think what we’re going to see here- as the weather gets better- all of us will be able to get out and get a lot better pictures,” says Jumper. “At the same time, I think we’ll go back now and have a better indication of what we need. So, we’ll go back into our archives and say, ‘Here’s pictures we have that we don’t remember we have,’ and we’ll do some more searching.”

Stare says most of the pictures submitted so far have come from village archives. Jumper says they’ll do their part to make sure the video has enough picture support.

“I think what we’re going to see here- as the weather gets better- all of us will be able to get out and get a lot better pictures,” says Jumper. “At the same time, I think we’ll go back now and have a better indication of what we need. So, we’ll go back into our archives and say, ‘Here’s pictures we have that we don’t remember we have,’ and we’ll do some more searching.”

Stare agrees that the video is headed in the right direction.

“We got a great project started. We had a great script. It’s a great sales pitch for the village,” says Stare. “It talks about all the things that the village offers and provides for businesses and individuals. We just need the visuals to support what we’re talking about in the audio.”

Submissions can be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Put “SOUTH JAX VIDEO” as the email subject line. Larger, higher-resolution files are preferred. Make sure to include the name of the photographer to get credit.

Stare says pictures of village streets or parks are also helpful, as well as parades and other annual events.

Also last night, the village board voted to approve the contract for the headlining act, opening act and stage and sound contracts for the fourth Concert in the Cornfield. The contracts totaled $56,000. The artists performing are not yet being announced.