By Kyle Thompson

Of the twelve individuals who applied for the Middletown Board of Education's seat, left vacant by Alan Whitt who resigned last month for personal reasons, five finalists were interviewed. On Wednesday night the Board unanimously appointed its newest member, DeAnna Shores, 34. The other four finalists that were considered were Todd Moore, Fred Gibson, Scott Warman, and Ted Pollard. 

“We were impressed with all of the candidates,” board President Marcia Andrew said. “We were really fortunate to have 12 quality candidates for the spot. Any one of them would have made a good board member. It made it tough for us to choose. She impressed the whole board with her public relations and communication skills. We thought she was going to be good to help move us forward into the future.”

Shores is an adjunct English instructor at Miami University of Middletown with a master's degree in rhetoric and writing from the University of Dayton and an English literature degree from Miami University.

“I feel very privileged to serve the community in this way,” Shores said. “I feel that I certainly can have a unique perspective because I’m a fourth generation educator, I’m a parent and my husband is a teacher. My heart is in the community.”

Shores will need to seek re-election in Novemeber of 2013.