The first ever Sea Shell Searchers Shell Show was just completed.  It
exceeded our every expectation.  The show was held in an arena theater which
is part of the Center for the Arts and Sciences in Clute, Texas and was
hosted by (of course) the Sea Shell Searchers of Brazoria County shell club.
(For those of you who visited the Brazosport Museum of Natural Science as
part of this year's COA convention, it is in the same complex.)  The center
staff was most helpful and customized the lighting to accent all of the
exhibits. We had 50 exhibits in 14 categories covering 276 feet.  The
scientific judges were Emilio Garcia and Chris Takahashi and the artistic
judge was Barbara Feiner.

Category Name                   Winner - Exhibit Name
============      ========================
One Family (tie)     Dave & Lucille Green - "Those Magnificent Cowries-A
World-wide Panorama"
One Family (tie)     Steven Coker - "Cancellariidae - The Nutmegs"
One Genus             Wayne Humbird - Pleuroploca
One Species           Wanda Coker - Syrinx aruanus
Single Specimen    Leslie Allen Crnkovic - Pterynotus xenos Harasewych 1982-
Rarity and Range Extension
Texas                       Leslie Allen Crnkovic - Littorina littorea
Linnaeus 1758  - A Unique Find for the Texas Coast
Gulf of Mexico       Leslie Allen Crnkovic - Latiaxis Babelomurex mansfieldi
Regional                 Leslie Allen Crnkovic - The Mound Builders of
Apalachicola or Down in the Dumps on
Thanksgiving Day
Worldwide             Janey Nill - Living Mollusks
Educational            Leslie Allen Crnkovic - Voluta Falsilyria sunderlandi
Petuch, 1987
Fossil                      Leslie Allen Crnkovic - Galeodea koureos Gardner
Land/Freshwater   Leslie Allen Crnkovic - "Snails of the Mayan Empire"
Shell Art                 Leslie Allen Crnkovic - Calliostoma orion  -
Photo of Live Animal
Shell Craft              Ellen Strasser - Sailors Valentines
Junior                     Stephanie Coker - Abalone

Major Award Winners
=================

DuPont Trophy - Steven Coker - "Cancellariidae - The Nutmegs"
COA Award - Dave and Lucille Green - "Those Magnificent Cowries - A
World-wide Panorama"
Shell of the Show - Any Source - Dave and Lucille Green - Cypraea broderipii
Shell of the Show - Self collected - Leslie Allen Crnkovic - Pterynotus
xenos
Mildred Tate Gulf of Mexico Award - Leslie Allen Crnkovic - Latiaxis
Babelomurex mansfieldi

The Mildred Tate Gulf of Mexico Award is sponsored by the Brazosport Museum
of Natural Science in honor of the Museum's first curator of Malacology.

Regards,

Steven Coker
Sea Shell Searchers