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By NOAH WORTHAM | Staff Writer

CALERA – During a city council meeting, Calera formally recognized Calera High School student Timothy Williams and teacher Drew Barnett for their work on filming and producing a recruiting video for the Calera Police Department.

Williams worked alongside 15 other students from CHS’s digital market class and sports & entertainment market class to create a recruitment video for the CPD.

The idea of working with a local school for the video production was pitched by Sgt. Robbie Grant with the CPD. The video was created to showcase the work the department does in the local community in hopes of recruiting new officers.

Over the course of a month, the students shot and edited the recruitment video with equipment from the high school.

“I expected a good video, I didn’t expect what we got,” Calera Police Chief David Hyche said. “It’s phenomenal. It looks like it’s professional quality.”

The video displays members of the CPD working in a variety of environments on different calls and assignments.

Williams and Barnett were presented with certificates of recognition by Hyche during a recent Calera City Council meeting on June 19.

“You’re not going to see a better video anywhere in the country,” Hyche said. “We’re proud of you guys and thanks again. We appreciate you, and we love the partnership with our school.”

Other police departments and organizations have been so impressed with the video that Williams has already received a potential job offer.

“It’s definitely opened up some potential employers as far as news and different freelance opportunities,” Williams said.

However, Williams did not take all the credit and expressed his enthusiasm for the CHS digital program.

“I think it’s really just about the future, not what we accomplished because I feel like we were the base for that digital class at Calera High School,” Williams said. “The projects that they will do in the coming years will just surpass anything that I’ve done in those four years. I’m really excited to see how the kids, not just the police department, but the kids in the community interact in way of video production.”