Preliminary Judges decide which of the 51 contestants will be among the Top Ten Finalists. Their responsibilities run from Sunday through Thursday of Miss America Week. They hear each contestant in her private interview as well as judge them in all three onstage competitions.

Robert K. Goodwin - President and CEO of the Points of Light Foundation, he also has led the creation of Connect America, a nationwide coalition of over 40 major nonprofit organizations and businesses. He served on the Steering Committee for The Presidents' Summit For America's Future.

Tamara Jacobs - Business owner and strong women's advocate, Jacobs' credits include creation of the popular business CD-ROM �Effective Presentation: The Power of Organized Conversation.� She is a lecturer and custom-designed seminar producer with clients among America's top businesses.

Marc Nuttle - President and Chairman of the Board of Sequoyah Information Systems, Nuttle has represented nations on political and economic development. He has served as advisor to Congress, Governors, Presidential candidates and trade associations on political and economic matters. He also served on President Reagan's Industrial Policy Advisory Committee for Trade and Policy Matters.

Tom Paterra - A featured soloist with Marvin Hamlisch this past year, Paterra has found critical acclaim as guest vocalist with numerous symphonies across America. His tenor voic is illustrated on his current CD, Tom Paterra, Live in Concert. He has sung the national anthem at many sporting events and has recorded over 800 songs.

Susan Powell - Miss America 1981, Susan is the host of Home Matters seen daily on the Discovery Channel. In the years following her year of service as Miss America, Powell starred in theatres, opera houses and concert halls across the country. Most recently, she completed a highly successful run as the heroine in Houston's Theatre under the Stars original production of Zorro.

Joe Tremaine - President of the Tremaine Dance Conventions and Competitions, Joe is a recipient of the Fosse Award for Dance Education. Other dance-related awards include The Professional Dancers Society Award for Excellence in dance contributions as well as the Gus Giordano Award. The Dance Educators of America awarded a �Joe Tremaine Day� in one state.

Diane Gibson - Manager for the entertainment career of her daughter Deborah Gibson, Diane has helped promote over 10 million musical albums worldwide. She also serves as an integral player in many of Deborah's career moves, including those of Broadway actress, London West End Actress and national touring productions.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JUDGES HAVE BEEN NAMED FOR THIS YEAR'S MISS AMERICA PAGEANT, WHICH WILL AIR SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19 ON ABC

Atlantic City, NJ - August 24, 1998 - Olympic gold medalist skier Picabo Street, PEOPLE magazine publisher Nora McAniff and Access Hollywood weekend anchor Nancy O'Dell have been named as three of the seven judges for this year's Miss America Pageant. The live telecast of the 78th Annual Miss America Pageant will air SATURDAY, SEPT. 19 at 9:00 p.m., ET, on the ABC Television Networ.

This year's judges will also include (in alphabetical order): Debbi Morgan, currently on the ABC Daytime drama "Port Charles," former Miss America and School-to-Work advocate Shawntel Smith, and Broadway and Academy Award-winning composer Stephen Schwartz. A seventh judge will be named shortly. The judges will vote on the qualifications of this year's top ten semi-finalists and will be responsible for choosing Miss America from the top five finalists.

The judges, who bring a wide variety of experience to this year's panel, include:

Nora McAniff has been publisher of PEOPLE magazine since September 1993. Under her stewardship, PEOPLE was named Advertising Age's Magazine of the Year for 1997, and the magazine also successfully launched PEOPLE en Espa ol, TEEN PEOPLE, and PEOPLE's 20th Anniversary issue, its most profitable ever.

Debbi Morgan, who originated the role of Dr. Ellen Burgess on the ABC Daytime drama, "Port Charles," has received a Daytime Emmy Award, an Emmy nomination and an IFP Spirit Award with the Chicago Film Critics Association. She also appeared in the critically- acclaimed film Eve's Bayou.

Nancy O'Dell, who serves as weekend anchor and weekday correspondent of Access Hollywood, has covered such glamorous events as The Oscars, The Emmy's and The Golden Globes. She is also the honorary spokesperson for the March of Dimes' "Blue Jeans for Babies" campaign to education women regarding prenatal and pregnancy care. She is Miss South Carolina 1987.

Stephen Schwartz, an Oscar and Grammy Award-winning songwriter, has received enormous recognition in the film industry as lyricist for Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. His Broadway legacy includes the musical adaptation of Studs Terkel's Working. He wrote the music and lyrics for Godspell at the age of 23.

Shawntel Smith, Miss America 1996, travels up to 15,000 miles per month as an advocate for the School-to-Work concept. She serves as National School-to-Work Ambassador to America's Youth and is a member of the national School-to-Work advisory council. Her participation in the Miss America program has funded her entire college education.

Picabo Street won the Olympic gold medal in the Women's Super-G at the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan. In the '94-'95 and `95-'96 seasons, she became the first American skier to capture the prestigious World Cup downhill title two years in a row, and has dominated women's skiing ever since that time.

The Miss America Organization is the single largest provider of scholarships to women in the world, with assistance totaling more than $32 million in 1997. It is a non-profit corporation based in Atlantic City, NJ.