Articles & By-Laws Committee
Jane Meyer, Chair
David Berlin
Michelle Giger
Doris Huffman
Susan Roberts
Hon. Richard Sievers
Anne Marie Waldron

Awards Committee
Hon. George Carley, Chair
Larry Bakko
Hon. Robert Kinney
Steve Miller
Dee Runaas
Kathy Vick-Martini
Judy Yarbro

Case Committee
Dewain Fox, Chair
Hon. George Carley
Pete Jones
Paul Kaufman
Jane Meyer
Bob Noel
Susan Roberts

Development Committee
John Wheeler, Chair
Don Christensen
Pete Jones
Bob Noel
Emily Reilly
Cary Shouffler
David Trevaskis

Long Range Planning Committee
Emily Reilly, Chair
David Berlin
Dewain Fox
Rando Hicks
Stacy Rieke
Hon. Richard Sievers
Laura Wesley

Newsletter Committee
Stacy Rieke, Chair
Susan Roberts
Laura Wesley

Nominating Committee
David Berlin, Chair
Rando Hicks
Doris Huffman
Pete Jones
Bob Noel
Susan Roberts
John Wheeler

Policy Committee
Hon. Richard Sievers, Chair
David Berlin
Don Christensen
Dewain Fox
Paul Kaufman
Jane Meyer
Emily Reilly
Ann Marie Waldron

Publicity Committee
Bob Noel, Chair
Don Christensen
Rando Hicks
Ann Marie Waldron
Laura Wesley

Rules Committee
Pete Jones, Chair
David Berlin
Dewain Fox
Paul Kaufman
Jane Meyer
Bob Noel
Emily Reilly
Susan Roberts

Site Selection Committee
Rando Hicks, Chair
David Berlin
Doris Huffman
Pete Jones
Susan Nusall
Emily Reilly
Stacy Rieke
Dee Runaas

Ad Hoc Curriculum Committee
Laura Wesley, Chair
Stacy Rieke
Dee Runaas
John Wheeler

Ad Hoc Ranking/Scoring Committee
Lary Bakko, Chair
Peggy Caldwell (GA)
Cynthia Cothran (SC)
Anthony Gonzales (NM)
Pete Jones (DE)
Danelle Liwski (AZ)
Emily Reilly (MN)
Dee Runaas (IL)
Hon. Richard Sievers (NE)
Billy Stover (KY)
Ann Marie Waldron (IN)

At the Championship Awards on May 8, 2010, the Golden Gavel Award was renamed the
Justice Gene Franchini Golden Gavel Award in honor of retired New Mexico Supreme Court Chief Justice Gene Franchini, who recently passed away. Justice Franchini was a long-time and avid supporter of law-related education and mock trial in particular. We miss him, and we honor him by keeping alive his many memorable stories, and his contagious sparks of humor and energy.

Justice Gene E. Franchini attended Loyola University in New Orleans for two years and went on to receive his BBA from the University of New Mexico. He earned his JD from Georgetown University and his LLM from the University of Virginia. He was a Staff Judge Advocate of the New Mexico Air National Guard. He served as both a trial and an appellate judge over a career spanning decades, and earned a reputation among his peers as a highly-principled man, who truly loved the law. His unfailing passion for helping young people learn about his favorite subject led him to serve each year as a judge in regional, state and national mock trial competitions, and the admiration and respect he garnered from the students whose lives he touched cannot be overstated. The Justice passed away suddenly in November of 2009 during an address to the first year class at the University of New Mexico School of Law. He was a remarkable man whose generous spirit and ready humor touched all those around him. He is deeply missed, and we will remember him always. Golden Gavel Nomination Form (2012 version - 46 kb PDF)

The Justice Gene Franchini Golden Gavel Award recognizes any adult individual who has demonstrated exemplary dedication and commitment to the goals and ideals of the national high school mock trial program. Nominations and supporting documentation for this award can be submitted by February 1 of each year, and are evaluated based on the nominee's length of service/participation in the national mock trial championships; the extent of that participation; the importance or significance of the nominee’s contribution/s; and how these qualifications help to further the goals and mission of the NHSMTC.

2002:  Judy Yarbro, TX
2003:  Hon. George Carley, GA
2003:  Dee Runaas, WI
2004:  Hon. Gene Franchini, NM
2005:  Larry Bakko, WI
2006:  Hon. Marc Westbrook, SC (posthumously)
2006:  Kathy Vick-Martini, WI
2008:  Hon. Robert Kinney, WI
2008:  Steve Miller, TX

Rebecca Britton
Hutchens, Senter & Britton
PO Box 2505
Fayetteville, NC 28302
(910) 864-6888
FAX: (910) 864-0562
(Resigned January 2006)

Lisa Burgess
950 Taylor St
Columbia SC 29201
803-252-5139

Hon. George H. Carley
State Judicial Building
Atlanta, GA 30334
(404) 656-3471
FAX: (404) 657-7576
(Term expired May 2010)

Cindy Coker, General Counsel
Agape Management Services, Inc.
3096 Sunset Blvd.
West Columbia, SC 29169
803/454-0365
FAX: 803/454-0366
(Term expired May 2005)

Marilyn Cover
Executive Director, Classroom Law Project
620 SW Main St. Suite 102
Portland, OR 97205
503/224-4424
FAX: 503/224-1721

Wade Cowan (updated 10/07)
Davies, Humphreys, Horton & Reese PLC
150 Second Ave North, Suite 225
Nashville, TN 37201
615-256-8125
FAX: 615-242-7853
(Term expired May 2002)

Dave Ells
Colorado Bar Association
1900 Grant St., Suite 950
Denver CO 80203-4336
303/824-5323
FAX: 303/861-5274
(Term expires May 2003)

Carolyn Ferber
8615 W. Berry Ave, #202
Denver, CO 80123
(303) 795-1453
(Resigned October 2006, term expires May 2007)

Patricia Flood
1505 S Big Bend
St Louis, MO 63117
314/645-8008
FAX: 314/645-8016
(Term expired May 2001)

Aric Fujii
Department of Labor & Industrial Relations
3060 Eiwa Street #202
Lihue, HI 96766
(Term expired May 2011)

Michelle Giger
P.O. Box 2184
Albuquerque, NM 87103-2184
505/764-9417
FAX: 505/242-5179
(Term expired May 2000)

D. Renee Hildebrant
321 Park Avenue
Room 322
Oklahoma City, OK 73102-3604
(405) 713-1423
(Term expired May 2008)

Doris Huffman
PO Box 95103
Lincoln, NE 68509
402/475-1042
(Term expired May 2004)

Christine Hylbert Northrop
Boulder County Bar Association
1942 Broadway, Suite 205
Boulder, CO 80302
303/440-4758
(Term expired May 1997)

Margo Jacobs
418 Downing
Coppell, TX 75019
972/393-1437
(Term expired May 1999)

Paul M. Lavelle
3822 Elysian Fields
New Orleans, LA 70122
504/524-0520
(Term expired May 2000)

Leslie Lynch
200 N.W. 4th St., Room 3023
Oklahoma City, OK 73102
405/609-5125
(Term expired May 2003)

Andrew McVey
16 North Fifth Avenue
Wilmington, NC 28401
(910) 763-2426
(Resigned October 2005)

Stephen Miller
704 E. 15th Street
Suite 203
Plano, TX 75074
(972) 578-7097
(Term expired May 2009)

Ray Mitchell
29 Hart Street
Providence, RI 02906
401/521-0673
(Term expired May 1999)

Rick Nagel
8436 SE 40th
Mercer Island, WA 98040-3624
206/232-6532
(Resigned Aug 2005)

Philip T. Newton, Jr.
409 Signal Mountain Boulevard
Signal Mountain, TN 37377-2245
423/886-7360
(Term expired May 1996)

Dee Runaas
1900 S. Clark Street #410
Chicago, IL 60616
(Archivist)
(Term expired May 2011)

Donna Schechter
424 S. 2nd Street
Springfield, IL 62701
217/525-1760
(Term expired May 2002)

David Trevaskis
Pennsylvania Bar Association
100 South Street
Harrisburg, PA 17108-0186
Tel: (717) 238-6715 ext. 2236
Fax: (717) 238-8739
(Term expires May 2012)

Stewart Weintraub
1600 Market St., Ste 3600
Philadelphia, PA 19103-7286
215/751-2296
(Term expired May 2004 -
resigned May 2001)

Michael White
Patton Boggs, LLP
601 West 5th Ave., Ste. 700
Anchorage, AK 99501
(907) 263-6380
FAX: (907) 263-6345
(Term expires May 2011)

2002 Host Director  Lisa Wilde
Minneapolis, MN 55402
(Term expired May 2005)

Judy Yarbro
2139 FM 779
Mineola, TX 75773
(903) 768-2122
(Term expired May 2009)