STATE GEOGRAPHIC BEE WINNERS COMPETE FOR $25,000 AND NATIONAL CHAMPION TITLE

WASHINGTON—National Geographic headquarters will be a hive of activity May 22 and 23 as 55 of the nation’s brightest young geography brains from Maui, Hawaii, to Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, make a beeline for Washington, D.C., in a bid to become America’s number one geography student.

The fourth to eighth graders, who range in age from 10 to 15, will be competing in the 2001 National Geographic Bee, vying for the top prize of a $25,000 college scholarship and a lifetime subscription to National Geographic magazine. Second and third prizes are college scholarships of $15,000 and $10,000.

First USA is the corporate sponsor of the 2001 National Geographic Bee. The 55 contestants, winners of their state geographic bees, have triumphed over a field of nearly 5 million students to earn a place in the national championships. They represent all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Pacific Territories and Department of Defense Dependents Schools.

The preliminary rounds of the National Geographic Bee will take place on May 22. Ten finalists will each win $500 and will advance to the championship round the following day. Alex Trebek, host of the television quiz show “Jeopardy!” will moderate the Bee finals for the 13th year. The championship round will air nationally May 23 on the new National Geographic Channel later that day. Produced by Maryland Public Television, the finals will also be broadcast later on public television stations. Tune-in information is available at nationalgeographic.com or check local listings for viewing times.

Sample Bee questions will air during May on “National Geographic Today,” the Channel’s live, daily news magazine that airs weekdays at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. ET/PT. Thirteen students taking part in this year’s National Geographic Bee are repeat state winners, three of them competing for the third time. Ramsey Furse from Delaware, Daniel Blatter from Utah and Kyle Haddad-Fonda from Washington took part in the 1999 and 2000 national contests. Second-time winners include Conor Bresnan, Iowa (2000); Hank Legan, Louisiana (2000); Peter Indall, New Mexico (2000); Michael Oh, New York (1999); Phillip Golladay, North Carolina (Alabama winner in 2000); John Rice, North Dakota (2000); Matt Pargeter, Oklahoma (1998); Alex King, Oregon (2000); Jason Ferguson, Texas (2000); and Adam Towler, Wyoming (2000).

For the first time a fourth grader will be competing in the national championship. He is 10-year-old Benjamin Detrixhe of Kansas. The winner from Arizona, Paul Ruffner, is blind. Thomas Beihl, South Carolina’s state champion, is the brother of the 1999 National Geographic Bee champion David Beihl.

The 2001 National Geographic Bee coincides with a rekindling of the nation’s interest in geography, which was the Society’s primary objective when it created the competition in 1989. One sign that geography has gained importance in the classroom is that the College Board now offers an advanced placement (AP) geography course in high schools.

“The National Geographic Society is proud of its role in getting geography back in the American classroom through the Bee and other outreach efforts,” said Terry Garcia, executive vice president for mission programs. “It is important for today’s students to know geography to prepare for their future role as responsible stewards and conservationists of our fragile planet.”

The 2000 National Geographic Bee champion was 13-year-old eighth grader Felix Peng of Connecticut. He correctly answered the question: “Name two of the three largest sections of Denmark, which include its mainland peninsula and two largest islands.” Answer: Jutland, Sjælland, Fyn.

In a survey of this year’s contestants, Albert Einstein was their overwhelming choice of a person, living or dead, the students would like to “hang out with.” Other favorites were Winston Churchill, Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, Julius Caesar, Bill Gates and Michael Jordan.

Asked who they would choose if they could be anyone in the world, answers ranged from president of the United States, Supreme Court justice and U.S. ambassador to inventor, doctor and “my dog, Rex.” Many students said they were happy just being themselves.

The National Geographic Society developed the National Geographic Bee in response to concern about the lack of geographic knowledge among young people in the United States. In a 10-country Gallup survey conducted for the Society in 1988 and 1989, Americans ages 18 to 24, the youngest group surveyed, scored lower than their counterparts in the other nations. A substantial number of Americans could not locate their own country on a blank world map.

The 113-year-old National Geographic Society is the world’s largest nonprofit scientific and educational organization. The National Geographic Channel, a partnership between National Geographic Television and Fox Cable Networks Group, is now available in 12 million homes with distribution commitments to boost its overall reach to 28 million homes.

First USA, a Bank One company, is the exclusive issuer of the National Geographic MasterCard. First USA offers credit cards for consumers and businesses under its own name, the Bank One name and on behalf of 1,900 marketing partners. These partners include some of the leading corporations, universities and affinity organizations in the United States. Bank One Corporation is the nation’s fifth-largest bank holding company, with assets of more than $265 billion.

#

May 2001