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Five Years Later: remembering the life and legacy of Cam Brown
This weekend is the Fifth Annual Cam Brown Seminole Classic wrestling tournament, just one example of how Cam Brown's memory continues to live on.
By: Alison Posey
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — In 2017, in the spring of his senior year of high school, Florida High all-star athlete Cam Brown was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, bone cancer. That November, Cam died.
Before he passed, he made Florida High wrestling coach Clay Allen promise he'd never be forgotten, and coach Allen has held up his end of the bargain. This weekend is the Fifth Annual Cam Brown Seminole Classic wrestling tournament, just one example of how his memory continues to live on.
All you have to do is take a look around Florida High, and Brown is everywhere.
"A quote on our t-shirts, or the Super Cam logo," said senior wrestler Dean Wright.
"Coach brings him up constantly," added junior Nicholas Roeder. "At least once per week."
"It was a promise I made to him five years ago," said Clay Allen. "He asked me to not let people forget who he was and what he stood for."
A promise fulfilled.
"Cam gave me an opportunity to constantly remind myself of who he was, and who I am, because of my interaction and relationship that I had with him," said Allen.
Brown was a stand-out athlete for the Seminoles
"Interacting with him changed my life for the better forever."
His smile, and his zest for life, are memories that live on. For those that knew him personally, and those who have learned of him through that promise made.
"He was always cracking jokes whenever he could," said Wright, who was in middle school when Brown was a senior. "Bus rides to tournaments were always a lot of fun with him around."
"Even though we was dealing with cancer, he fought with a smile on his face the whole time," added Roeder, who's heard countless stories of Brown. "He was such a big impact on the wrestling team, every athlete at this school, everyone at this school."
His impact is why Florida High's wrestling team hosts the Cam Brown Seminole Classic every year, and it's why his memory will be celebrated school wide with the first ever Cam Brown Day on Friday.
"What we wanted to do is just exactly what we did at his graduation," said Allen. "Superman shirts, crazy socks, white shoes."
"It feels really cool to wrestle at a tournament that's all about remembering this great guy who did all these great things," said Roeder. "Even though I never had the chance to meet him, I'm so glad I can wrestle in his honor and his memory."
A memory kept alive.
"He always continued to keep that positive outlook and that positive thinking," said Allen. "Regardless of how this fight with cancer turns out, if I have a great attitude, and great interactions with people, people will remember me forever."
All you have to do, is look around. The 5th Annual Cam Brown Seminole Classic starts Friday and continues Saturday. Money raised from concessions and student ticket sales will go towards the Cam Brown Memorial Scholarship, which will be given to a deserving senior every year.