GAINESVILLE STATE COLLEGE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: SLOAN JONES, 678-717-3836
Gainesville, GA., October 9, 2012 – Gainesville State’s Amy Broome earns the Elizabeth Baumgardner Peacemaker Award at the 10th Annual Brenau Regional Mock Mediation Tournament, October 5-6!
Broome, a business administration major from Oakwood, earned the Elizabeth Baumgardner Peacemaker Award for mediation and advocacy, demonstrating superior talent at all phases of the competition with the highest combined scores.
The prize was established by Vivian B. Lord, chair of Criminology and Criminal Justice Department, UNC-Charlotte, and the coach of its mediation team, in honor of her mother. Broome also earned the No. 3 individual competitor award among the 48 mediators who participated.
Gainesville State’s team of Broome; Scott Fuller, a business administration major from Flowery Branch; and Gina Schwartz, a human services administration major from Flowery Branch, took second out of 16 in team scoring.
The GSC team of Amanda Seden, a theater major (design tech) from Braselton; Kat Stallcup, a criminal justice major from Nicholson; and Penny Hollis, a social work major from Gainesville, finished in fifth place.
The GSC team of Seden and Hollis placed fourth in the top advocate/client competition.
Dr. Ray-Lynn Snowden, GSC Associate Professor of Communication, Media Studies and Journalism serves as team advisor and coach.
Dr. C. Thomas Preston, Jr., GSC Professor of Communication, Media Studies and Journalism serves as team advisor.
The tournament, a regional program hosted by Brenau University, has been regarded as a “limbering up” for teams that participate in national competition each November. It featured representatives from colleges and universities in three states: Brenau University, Clayton State University, Gainesville State College, Georgia State University, Middle Georgia College, Middle Tennessee State University, University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Western Carolina University.
Kennesaw State University Professor Susan Raines, a well-known author on mediation and the editor-in-chief of the Conflict Resolution Quarterly, conducted the training for the students and mediators.
The 16 teams then paired off in the three-round mediation performances. The judges for this tournament were mediators, legal professionals and others trained in mediation who volunteered their time to evaluate the performances of the student participants as they mediated and advocated for their clients in the various role plays.
Many of the participants will be returning to Gainesville on Nov. 1-3, 2012 when Brenau hosts the 13th Annual National Intercollegiate Mock Mediation Tournament, the first time the tournament has ever been held outside of the Midwestern United States.
The national tournament will feature 30 to 40 teams from colleges and universities across the country. During the tournament, participants will have further training in mediation and advocacy skills and compete in a tournament evaluated by mediation and legal professionals, including Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Carol Hunstein, Georgia Appeals Court Judge J.D. Smith and noted mediation authors Richard Calkins and Fred Lane.
The four teams making the finals will be invited to attend the International Law School Mediation Tournament in London or Dubai in March 2013.
Revised 10/10/12