GEORGETOWN, KY - Georgetown College theatre professor George McGee is one of five semi-finalists for this year’s Kentucky New Play Series (KNPS), sponsored by Kentucky Playwrights Workshop, Inc.

McGee’s short one-act play, “The Engagement,” is about a young couple celebrating their engagement at a favorite restaurant with the young man’s widowed father. The young man is called away leaving his bride to be with his “communication challenged” father, but the young woman will not be ignored.

The Kentucky New Play Series selects two or three short plays of fifteen minutes in length or less by Kentucky playwrights for production each year at the Kentucky State Fair in Louisville.

This year, three plays by Kentucky playwrights will be given their world premieres at the state fair on Monday, August 19. Selection of the three finalists will be made in early July, according to Bill McCann, KNPS producer.

Other 2013 semifinalists are Linda Caldwell, Somerset, “The Past is Not Past;” Gary Eldridge, Morehead, “The Beauty of Things;” Carol Mauriello, Olive Hill, “Rising from the Ashes;” and Tim Soulis, Lexington, “A Life in the Day of Bobby/Robert.”

Winning plays will be staged by the harriCYN Community Theatre of Cynthiana, Kentucky. Performances will be in the Heritage Hall Senior Room in the South Wing of the Fair and Exposition Center. The Senior Room is sponsored by Humana and the Louisville Department of Parks.

GEORGETOWN, KY – Alumnus Jake Bell ’65 has been named Coordinator of Southeastern Conference men’s basketball officials.

Bell earned his bachelor’s degree in education and master’s in education/counseling from Georgetown College. He received his doctorate in administration/supervision from the University of Kentucky in 2003.

As an educator, he taught and coached in the Lexington/Fayette Public Schools. He was Georgetown College athletic director (1998-2000) and interim athletic director at Eastern Kentucky University (2004-05).

Here is the full June 10, 2013, SEC release:

Birmingham, Ala. – Dr. Robert “Jake” Bell, a veteran college basketball official and conference coordinator, has been named Coordinator of SEC Men’s Basketball Officials, Commissioner Mike Slive announced today.

“We are pleased to have someone of Jake’s experience and background to lead the SEC’s men’s basketball officiating program.” Slive said. “His experience as an official and a coordinator will help guide an already solid officiating program. His appointment has the unanimous support of the conference’s 14 athletic directors and 14 head men’s basketball coaches.”

A long-time official in the SEC, he officiated in several conference tournaments as well as the NCAA Tournament and the NIT. Bell has served as the Coordinator of Basketball Officials for the Atlantic Sun Conference since 2006 and of the Southern Atlantic Association since 2012. He also worked as the Coordinator of Men’s Basketball Officials for the Mid-South Conference from 1996-2000.

“To be a part of the SEC again is a dream opportunity for me,” Bell said. “I feel so pleased to be part of such a great organization. My experience with the SEC dates back to the 1970s when Cliff Harper (former SEC Associate Commissioner) hired me to officiate in this league. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I look forward to getting started.”

Bell earned his Bachelor’s degree in Education (1965) and Master’s in Education/Counseling from Georgetown College. He received his Doctorate in Administration/Supervision from the University of Kentucky in 2003.

GEORGETOWN, KY – Alumnus T.G. Shuck ’91 and his wife Angie were among excited viewers of this year’s Tony Awards as their seven-year-old daughter Booklyn’s first Broadway show, “Annie: The Musical,” garnered a nomination for best revival of a musical. Brooklyn wasn’t on stage but as an understudy she was in attendance at the prestigious awards show.

Brooklyn joined the University of Kentucky Opera Theatre’s Academy for Creative Excellence (ACE) after showing special talent in dance at an early age. There she appeared in several productions including the 2012 musical revue, “It’s a Grand Night for Singing!” She was also featured at the annual holiday sing-along concert “Alltech Holiday Celebration of Song,” where she was the lead vocalist on “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.”

It was a year or so ago that Brooklyn began auditioning in New York City for such shows as “The Grinch” and “Godspell 2032.” In December, she received a call back to the Big Apple to audition for a swing role in the Broadway revival of “Annie.” She learned she was cast as the understudy to the actresses playing orphans Molly, Kate, Tessie, July and Duffy in January. She first appeared on stage as Kate on March 26 at the Palace Theatre.

Mom and dad are proud of Brooklyn’s ability in dance, voice and acting. We predict she will find a special place on stage at a future Tony Awards ceremony.

Alumnus and former football Tiger T.G. is now a regular commuter between Lexington and NYC. The former chief meteorologist for WKYT-TV in Lexington, he is devoting more time to family. Weather forecasting is still in his blood, however, so he is currently the “Weather Wizard” for the online news page KyForward.com. You can also follow his weather Tweets @TGWeather.

Assistant Director of Admissions Jeremiah Tudor

GEORGETOWN, KY – We know you’re proud to be a GC Tiger. Now show us!

We’re looking for photos of newly admitted students, current students, and alumni wearing their GC swag. We want to see your Tiger Pride – wearing (or holding) anything that says GC, just like assistant director of admissions Jeremiah Tudor is doing here.

Take a photo and send it to us. Individuals or groups; at home, on a vacation trip, wherever. Any setting is just fine!

Show everyone that you are a GC Tiger and proud of it!

Email your digital photo (highest resolution) as an attachment to alumni@georgetowncollege.edu. Tell us who you are along with when and where photo was taken.

Let’s have some Tiger Pride fun.

Special banner displayed on the Cralle Student Center, College Street, Georgetown.

GEORGETOWN, KY – Recently it was reported that a California teen has developed a super-capacitor that could lead to a 20- to 30-second phone charge. Then there was the story of a Louisville man who created Over, a very popular iPhone app which allows people to put text over photos.

That spirit of invention is just what sponsors hope to unleash in Kentucky’s youth at the inaugural Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs summer program, hosted on the Georgetown College campus June 9-29.

Announced in December by Governor Steve Beshear, the Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs (GSE) is a program that gives Kentucky high school students a hands-on opportunity to invent a product and create a business around it.

“Georgetown College is honoured to have been selected to be the host site for the first ever Governor’s School of Entrepreneurs in the Commonwealth,” said President Bill Crouch. “We are excited to have some of the most creative and energetic students in the state on our campus this summer.” Dr. Crouch added he looks forward to what they learn and develop.

Students selected for GSE will come ready to roll up their sleeves, work as a team, and create something that provides a real world solution.

GSE’s unique program brings teachers, schools, universities, graduate students, start-up technology companies, experienced entrepreneurs, scientists and engineers all together into a dynamic summer learning experience.

GSE selected students for the program by identifying those showing a passion for creating a product or idea and who possess a learning style that will thrive in a creative and innovative environment.

Limited to 50 participants, students will be grouped into small teams of no more than seven, based on their product idea or area of interest.

Each team will take an idea through the components of a business model — from product/service creation to customer engagement. Along the way, students will learn about company start-up and growth — from product development and design to production and operations to marketing, sales and revenue models. Students will engage in creative thinking and innovation, and learn the value of iteration, building a team, and leadership.

The program will include visits to area start-up companies, guest speakers, hands-on sessions with experts, field trips, and recreational activities. Teams will prepare their business models for “pitch day” when the teams will present their companies to a panel of investors. At the end, some teams may be ready to launch an actual company or product.

GSE faculty members are Raja Bhattacharya and Tom Welch.

A native of Kathmandu, Nepal, entrepreneurship is Raja’s passion and he is a successful serial entrepreneur and academician. At present, he is a faculty member with the Western Kentucky University Center for Entrepreneurship. His teaching areas of expertise lie in small business analysis and strategy, international entrepreneurship, small business management, innovation and creativity, venture financing, business planning, and social entrepreneurship.

Mr. Welch, now an independent consultant, is known around the country as an ardent revolutionary when it comes to the redesign of the learning process. Besides having taught an entrepreneurship course for high school students, he has been a high school French teacher, an English teacher, and a high school principal (East Jessamine, Nicholasville). As principal, he mandated that all administrators teach one class every day.

GSE organizers say that if Kentucky is to remain competitive in emerging economies driven by innovation, then talent must be developed early on and in a broad way. GSE aims to uncover young talent that traditional academic pathways may not draw out and hopes to stimulate and shape the next generation of leaders.

Kentucky Science & Technology Corporation (KSTC) will manage the three-week GSE program. The senior leadership team from KSTC includes Laurie Daugherty, Christine Wildes, and Liz Knapp. The GSE is patterned after the very successful Governor’s Scholars Program and the Governor’s School for the Arts.

Peter LaRue, Executive Director of Summer Program and Camps at Georgetown College, who was instrumental in securing the program, said, “It is a privilege and a pleasure for us to serve as the inaugural host site for GSE. It has been a delight to work with the KSTC team – planning and preparing this unique opportunity for these exceptional young people.”

Georgetown College was chosen for the inaugural program, selected through a competitive process, due to its reputation for innovation and broad experience in hosting successful summer programs for students, according to officials.