Scripps National Spelling Bee


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Officials and Staff OFFICIALS:
	Paige P. Kimble, director, is the 1981 national champion and 1980 runner-up representing the El Paso Herald-Post. This is her 22nd year with the program, having served eight years on staff, four years as assistant director, two years as a co-director, and seven years as director.	Carolyn B. Andrews, word list manager, works full-time for the program from her home in Oliver Springs, Tennessee. Her son, Ned Andrews, won the 1994 national championship. She has worked for the program in various capacities since late 1994.

	Dr. Jacques A. Bailly, pronouncer, is the 1980 national champion representing the Rocky Mountain News. He is an associate professor of classics at the University of Vermont. This is his third year as pronouncer after having served 12 years as associate pronouncer.	Dr. Brian Mark Sietsema, associate pronouncer, is an ordained priest of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and is currently serving a parish in Lansing, Michigan. He received a doctorate in linguistics in 1989, and he was the pronunciation editor for Merriam-Webster from 1990 to 1998. This is Dr. Sietsema's third year as associate pronouncer.

	Mary Brooks, judge, teaches at a West Des Moines, Iowa, junior high school and also serves as site coordinator for her school district’s Beginning Teacher Mentor Program. She has served the program in various capacities for the past 34 years, including 20 years as a judge and five years as a co-director.	Blake Giddens, judge, is the 1983 national champion representing the El Paso Herald-Post. He is a professional engineer for a civil engineering firm in Alexandria, Virginia. This is his fifth year as a judge after having served five years as auxiliary judge and four years on staff.

	Dr. Sandra C. Harrell, judge, is the acting director of reading/language arts for grades K-12 for the Birmingham Public Schools in Alabama. She is an experienced judge for the Birmingham Post-Herald spelling bee program, and this is her eighth year as a national finals judge.	Dr. Ed Low, judge, is a professor of English at the Metropolitan State College of Denver. This is Dr. Low’s 11th year as a judge for the national finals. He has served as a Rocky Mountain News spelling bee judge for 16 years.

	Dr. Michelle M. Mehta, auxiliary judge, of Houston, Texas, recently graduated from Baylor College of Medicine. Michelle represented the El Paso Herald-Post in the 1988 national finals. This is her fifth year as auxiliary judge after having served seven years on staff.	Mark Kroeger, media liaison, is the director of communications and investor relations for The E.W. Scripps Company. Before joining Scripps’ corporate office in 1997 he was a business editor and metro editor for the Evansville Courier in Indiana.

	Cybelle L. Weeks, administrative assistant, of Cincinnati, Ohio, works full-time for the program from The E.W. Scripps Company’s corporate office. This is Cybelle’s eighth year of association with the program.	Bret G. Nealis, independent computer software specialist, of Cincinnati, Ohio, is a Microsoft-certified professional with over 18 years of custom programming experience. This is Bret’s 11th year on staff.

	Mark Bowen, photographer, of Cincinnati, Ohio, is a professional free-lance photographer specializing in corporate photojournalism. This is Mark’s 14th year as the official photographer for the program.	Angela Z. Rose, stage manager, of Taylor Mill, Kentucky, is the Internet content and marketing manager for The Kroger Co. She represented the Herald-Star of Steubenville, Ohio, in the 1989 national finals. This is Angela's fourth year as stage manager, after having served five years on staff.

ADDITIONAL BEE OFFICIALS:

Andy Andrews, technical representative, of Oliver Springs, Tennessee, is an electrical engineer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee.

Mike Rose, technical representative, of Taylor Mill, Kentucky, is a multimedia producer at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

STAFF:

Gary Andrews of Oliver Springs, Tennessee, is a junior at Oak Ridge High School in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

John O. Andrews of Oliver Springs, Tennessee, recently graduated from Princeton University with a degree in operations research and financial engineering.

Stephanie Bloomfield of Cincinnati, Ohio, is an early childhood education major at the University of Cincinnati.

Ashley Brailsford of Greensboro, North Carolina, recently graduated from Xavier University with a degree in education. This fall she will begin graduate school at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.

Craig R. Bucki, staff co-captain, of East Amherst, New York, is a Yale University graduate who recently completed his second year of studies at the Columbia University School of Law. He represented the Buffalo News in the 1995 and 1996 national finals.

Rachel Clark of Cincinnati, Ohio, is an education major at Northern Kentucky University.

April DeGideo of Ambler, Pennsylvania, represented the Times Herald of Norristown, Pennsylvania, in the 1998 and 1999 national finals, placing third in 1999. She is a junior journalism major at New York University.

Lauren Darlington of Cincinnati, Ohio, recently graduated from Ohio University with a degree in broadcast journalism.

William Dolan, staff co-captain, of Keller, Texas, will this summer receive his Ph.D. in biology from the University of California–San Diego, and he will begin work for the New Jersey office of McKinsey and Company. He represented the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in the 1989, 1990, and 1991 national finals, placing fifth in 1990.

Josh Doyle of Chattanooga, Tennessee, is a recent graduate of Emory University in Atlanta. This fall he will enter the University of Maryland M.D./Ph.D. program. He represented the Chattanooga Times in the 1994 and 1995 national finals.

Sarah Doyle of Chattanooga, Tennessee, is a sophomore history major at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She represented the Chattanooga Times in the 1999 national finals.

Jeffrey Goodspeed of Hartford City, Indiana, recently graduated from Purdue University. He represented the Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the 1994 national finals.

Kara Hadge of Canton, Massachusetts, is a freshman at Wellesley College. She represented the Patriot Ledger of Quincy, Massachusetts, in the 1999 and 2000 national finals.

Anna Mari Ho of Plantation, Florida, is a freshman psychology major at the University of Florida.

Bridget Nealis of Mason, Ohio, recently graduated from Mason High School. She will attend the University of Kentucky in the fall.

Maren Peterson of Blooming Prairie, Minnesota, is a recent graduate of St. Olaf College in Minnesota. She is a sales and marketing representative for Math Teachers Press.

Megan Peterson of Blooming Prairie, Minnesota, is a junior at Saint Mary’s College in Winona, Minnesota. She is an English major with a concentration in professional writing.

Carrie Porter of Terrace Park, Ohio, recently graduated from Mariemont High School. This fall she will enter the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

Jessica Shely of Cincinnati, Ohio, is a junior majoring in journalism at Hampton University.

Hester Shieh of Paradise Valley, Arizona, is a freshman chemical-biological engineering major at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She represented the Arizona Educational Foundation in the 2000 national finals.

Sameer Soleja, staff co-captain, of Houston, Texas, is a consultant for Sungard Enform Consulting, an IT services firm. He represented Valley Freedom Newspapers in the 1993, 1994, and 1995 national finals, tying for sixth place in 1995.

Lauren Terry of Reynoldsburg, Ohio, is a junior at the Columbus School for Girls.

Greg Touney of Davenport, Iowa, is a sophomore history major at the University of Notre Dame. He represented the Herald & Review of Decatur, Illinois, in the 1999 national finals, tying for ninth place.

Yan Zhong of Vero Beach, Florida, is a junior operations research and financial engineering major at Princeton University. She represented the Press-Journal of Vero Beach, Florida, in the 1998 and 1999 national finals.