Creative Team at VOCAB U.

The creative team of Vocabulary University has known each other for a long time. I would like to single out the extraordinary help I have gotten from my wife, Jan, and my three sons, Keith, Kylie & Brad. All of them have encouraged me in my objective to "make words come alive" in a dynamic, new approach to learning vocabulary featured here on the WWWeb.

Vocabulary University serves as the introduction for at least 8 members of the Vocon® family. On the "faculty" page, you will meet Dick Shinary, Cinny Nym, Auntie Nym, Acro Nym, Al Literation, Sam Mantics, Etta Molly Gee and Crossword. They were created 20 years ago as cartoon characters and were featured in the Moline Dispatch They take their job of teaching English vocabulary very seriously!

The graphics at our site have been created by four wonderful artists:

Maria Reeves (Reeves Associates) began to help our effort in Dec '93. She has been instrumental in all phases of our graphic illustrations for the Rooty*Hoot*Hoot® brand puzzles.
Bob Marzuski (Wizzard.com) is the website graphic creator and art-wizard. His efforts are throughout the Vocabulary University and AOL thematic puzzles. He can do almost everything!
Ian Clazie (Clazie Associates), an entrepreneurial artist, contributed backgrounds for many of our Vocab U. Sessions as well as our AOL thematic puzzles.
Jorge Calamato (Jorge), another exceptionally talented artist friend from Argentina, created the backgrounds for many of our puzzles as well as the AOL Women's History puzzles.

In addition to the above team, strong initial encouragement from Rob Small (The Moline Publishing Company) persuaded me to create the Rooty*Hoot*Hoot® brand of word puzzles for the newspaper industry. Since February 1995 the "Rooty" puzzles have been published six times per week.

Our current efforts concentrate on two WWWeb sites:

Grade Level Vocabulary puzzles at Vocabulary University

Monthly Word Puzzle Contests at Syndicate.com

Thank you for your interest and feedback.

Carey Orr Cook aka "Rich Encounter" and the VOCAB Team

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