STATE OF NEBRASKA John A. Gale Secretary of State
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:	CONTACT: Shelley Harrold
May 28, 2003	402-471-1572

State Quarter Design Committee Members Selected

Lincoln - Secretary of State John Gale announced today that Nebraska is beginning the first stage of the Commemorative Quarter design selection process. The Commemorative Quarter Program™ is a 10-year initiative, beginning in 1999 and concluding in 2008, commemorating each of the 50 United States. The goal of the first stage is to provide the U.S. Mint with three to five design concepts. The U.S. Mint will use Nebraska concepts to create candidate designs, which will be returned to Nebraska for a final selection process.

Secretary of State John Gale will serve as Chairman of the Nebraska State Quarter Design Committee consisting of experts in the field of coin collecting, history, culture and art. Committee members were selected by various organizations in Nebraska, including Governor Mike Johanns, the Nebraska Arts Council, The Nebraska Humanities Council and the Nebraska Historical Society.

Committee members include:

• Norman Geske, Director Emeritus of Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery.
• Roger Bruhn, a self-employed graphic designer and photographer.
• Gordon Howard of Bayard has a vast knowledge of Nebraska history.
• Ms. Jodi Rave of Lincoln, a Native Beat Reporter for Lee Enterprises and the Lincoln Journal Star.
• Tom Bassett of Lincoln, Past President of Lincoln Coin Club & Nebraska Numismatic Association.
• Virgil R. Marshall of Wymore, a Numismatist and Coin Dealer
• Dr. Michael Schuyler of Kearney has a vast knowledge of Nebraska history.

The first meeting of this committee is scheduled for May 30^th at the Nebraska State Capitol, Room 1507. By state law, the Committee will seek ideas for the quarter design from the public. The Nebraska State Quarter will be released into circulation in 2006.

Secretary Gale remarked that "Representatives of the U.S. Mint will be in attendance to communicate with the Committee the guidelines and time frames that will need to be followed in the process of selecting the design for the Nebraska quarter. With our Committee now in place, we are eager and excited to start forward on this adventure of designing our Nebraska State Quarter."

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