Up Front | From the Editor

December 2000: Vol. 80, No. 1

eorgia Magazine is a quarterly publication. But there are times when it feels more like a monthly, or even a weekly, owing to the ebb and flow of the news and what those events do to our best-laid editorial plans.

For example, when we look into our crystal ball, we see UGA swimming coach Jack Bauerle being named head coach of the 2004 Olympic team, which, if we're right, should land him on our cover. With that in mind—and with dot.com visionary Jeff Arnold building WebMD into what U.S. News & World Report called "The Microsoft of medical Web sites"—we planned to put Arnold on the cover of this issue and save Bauerle for 2004.

In the 1970s, Bauerle was captain of the UGA swim team. In four years, he may be head coach of the U.S. Olympic team.

Then came the ebb-and-flow part. On Oct. 12, Arnold surprised us and the business world by resigning as CEO of WebMD. He left the company with $55 million in stock and plans to resurface in another Web-based capacity.

We were poised to bring that story to GM readers when another upheaval occurred in Arnold's life: his Buckhead mansion burned. Fortunately, he and his family hadn't moved in yet, but the turmoil in Arnold's life postponed our final interview and photo sessions. Suffice it to say, we will revisit the man whom The New York Times calls a "serial entrepreneur."

Bauerle, meanwhile, was having a year to remember. In March, his women's swimming and diving team won its second straight NCAA championship. In September, Bauerle headed to Sydney to serve as assistant coach of the U.S. Olympic team. When the final medal tallies were in, four of his UGA protegés—Courtney Shealy, Kristy Kowal, Kim Black, and Julia Stowers—had won Olympic medals. And then in October, Bauerle accompanied Kowal to the NCAA Woman of the Year banquet in Indianapolis.

Kowal was certain she wouldn't win because UGA swimmer Lisa Coole was NCAA Woman of the Year in 1997 and no school had ever produced two winners of this coveted award, which honors scholarship, leadership, and community service.

Okay, so no school had won the award twice, but what about a truly amazing team like the UGA Swim Dogs? With a tradition of academic achievement that rivals what they've accomplished in the pool, couldn't they do it?

They did. Or rather, Kowal did.

Bottom line: Bauerle and Shealy and Kowal forced us to put them on the cover of this issue. Shealy came home from Sydney with two gold medals and a share of a world record in the 400 medley relay. Kowal won a silver medal in the 200 breaststroke. And Bauerle . . . well, let's just say that this remarkable son of Philadelphia has the talent and charisma to have another year like this in 2004. Stay tuned.