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Mike Cooper

Publisher

CEO/Publisher Mike Cooper has over 25 years of leadership experience in media, education, management, and sales/marketing. He has been involved in a variety of start-up organizations building them into profitable businesses.

Mike has received numerous awards and honors including Wichita Business Journal 40 Under 40, Lee Corporation Presidents Award, numerous media related awards for broadcast production including Emmy, Telly and Ohio State awards. His organizations have also been twice awarded Wichita “Best Places to Work”. He holds a degree in Communications from Missouri Southern State University, an Executive MBA from Wichita State University’s Center for Management Development, a Green Belt in Six Sigma training from Newman University, Executive Leadership training from Lee Enterprises and extensive corporate training from Thomson Learning.

Mike has a strong background in sports programming including directing Kansas State basketball and football games for broadcast television and is actively involved in high school sports through his family. He has a wife Kellie, a former WSU basketball player, and two children Kylie (14) and Taylor (12).
Tom Witherspoon

Editor-in-chief

Editor-in-Chief Tom Witherspoon graduated in May 2006 from the University of Notre Dame where he earned a B.A. in Classics and was an active intramural athlete. After growing up in the Wichita area, he and his family moved to Newport, Vermont, where he attended junior high and senior high school.

After graduation from Notre Dame, Tom worked briefly as a sportswriter for the South Bend Tribune. Before taking his current position with High School Sports-The Magazine, he wrote as a sports correspondent for the Wichita Eagle.

When he wasn’t buried in the stacks at the library decoding Homer’s Iliad or trying to align style with content for his creative writing classes, Tom was playing basketball at the Rec Center or spending quality time with friends in his apartment complex alley. Tom enjoys open jump shots, ancient history, contextually-sound metaphors and the give-and-go.

An all-state athlete in high school, Tom’s fondest athletic memory is beating Notre Dame wide receiver Rhema McKnight as a sophomore in the Final Eight of the Notre Dame Bookstore Basketball Tournament, the largest outdoor 5 on 5 basketball tournament in the world.

Tom is a fourth-generation Wichitan. He has two brothers in the Service and a sister whose closets are full. His parents currently reside once again in Wichita.
Ted Hayes

Senior Contributing Editor

Ted Hayes has served as Executive Director for the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame since 1991. In that same year he was selected as the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by Kansas Athletic Directors Association.

Ted was the first recipient of the Distinguished Service Award in 1994, given out by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association for his compilation of the all-time Kansas high school records. He compiled and still maintains the official Kansas high school sports records.

Ted was the founder, editor and publisher of Kansas Sports Magazine. He is also the former Chairman of the Kansas Shrine Bowl Selection Committee and a former member of the Selection Committee for the McDonald’s H.S. All-America basketball team.

He serves on the Board of Directors for the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame, the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission, and the Air Capital Cosmopolitan Club.

Ted was born and raised in Wakefield, Kansas. He is married and has three grown children and six grandchildren.
Marc Colcord

Account Manager

Raised in Princeton, New Jersey, Marc and his family have lived in Wichita for 15 years. He has been with the central Kansas magazine since the very first issue. He is on the board of a local high school booster club and served as president for two years. This fall, Marc will be starting his fifth season coaching middle school basketball.
Marc spent the last 26 years in the communications industry. Early on he worked for small local companies and then spent 21 years working for a large multi-national company, supporting customers such as Sears, IBM and Fidelity Investments. He has received numerous awards for customer support in including region manager of the year. Marc has a degree in Business Communications from Emerson College in Boston and has attended many leadership and management development courses. His love of sports started while growing up in Princeton watching Bill Bradley play basketball.

Marc lives in Wichita with his wife Devora and daughter Jordan.
Alex Thomas

Art Director / Layout Design

Alex Thomas joins the HSSTM team with an extensive background in web and graphic design. He has taken on the role of the magazine’s art director and part-time photographer. Alex’s technology career has included stints with Horizon Internet Technology which eventually sold to Earthlink and NetG, a Wichita-based software company. At NetG, he helped create several award-winning software titles while working in the graphics and engineering department. After NetG was sold, Alex started his own company, HaverHill Studios, a web design and technology consulting business. You might recognize Alex’s voice. He was the singer for the band Ophil for 11 years. During that time he played a key role in the release of three full length albums. The band also completed a West Coast tour and opened for many well-known bands such as Vanilla Ice, Maroon 5, Marcy’s Playground, The Reverend Horton Heat, Sugar Ray, Smashmouth and many more. In his spare time, Alex enjoys spending time with his wife, Kelly, and dog, Coco B. Ware. The couple are expecting their first child in September of 2007.
Becky Weatherford

Account Manager

Becky Weatherford started her broadcasting career at KWCH-TV in October 1987 where she continued to work for 15 years. She was first a reporter in the news department, and then moved into the Promotion department where she was the Public Service and Promotion Coordinator for two years. In that capacity Becky coordinated all station promotions and special events. She wrote, produced and directed promotional ads as well as purchasing and designing print and radio advertising for station promotions.

In 1990 Becky became an Account Manager for the KWCH-TV sales team. In the sales department she developed several successful sales promotions and vendor program. Her “can-do” attitude, creativity and commitment to excellence was quickly recognized by her clients, and soon she began assisting clients with all of their marketing needs.

In October 2002 she joined forces with longtime friend and client, Sharon Van Horn. She worked with Van Horn Promotion and Marketing then went out on her own in January 2004 as Weatherford Creative. Becky continues to offer complete marketing, advertising and promotional services to clients.

Becky has always been committed to the community and has helped with several non-profit events, helping new events become successful. Her list of activities include the Cattleman’s Ball, Wichita State University Auction, Kansas State Catbacker Auction, as well as activities for Wichita Children’s Home, Alzheimer’s Association and The Leukemia Society.

Becky and her husband Dan have been married for 16 years and have one daughter Lexie Bryn who just turned 4. They enjoy traveling, boating, skiing, flying and K-State football games.
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