Beagle Bros president to keynote KansasFest 2010

[Ken Gagne <kgagne@gamebits.net>]

KANSAS CITY, MO -- December 22, 2009 -- Mark Simonsen, employee number
three and later owner of Beagle Bros, will be the keynote speaker at
KansasFest 2010. At Beagle Bros, whose popular software products for
the Apple II hobbyist demonstrated the publisher's quirky sense of
humor, Mark developed software including Flex Type, Beagle BASIC,
Beagle Graphics, Triple-Dump, and Double-Take. In the early 1980s,
Mark decided that he "wanted to work with the Apple for the rest of
[his] life," a statement that captures the enthusiasm and spirit of
Mark, Beagle Bros, and many Apple II users.

Beagle Bros started in 1980 under the direction of Bert Kersey to
provide software to casual users of the Apple II. A year and a half
after graduating with a degree in computer science from Brigham Young
University, Mark "fell in love with the Apple." Mark published Flex
Type through Beagle Bros in 1982, joined the company as a programmer
in 1983, and bought it in 1987 at the age of 29.

Besides software like Shape Mechanic, GPLE, and DOS Boss for budding
programmers, Beagle Bros produced books, posters, and even
advertisements full of clever and useful tidbits demonstrating the
capabilities of the Apple II. Later, the company produced highly
regarded productivity software like Platinum Paint, BeagleWrite GS,
and the TimeOut line of AppleWorks add-ons. Beagle Bros earned many
loyal followers thanks to the combination of quality products,
enthusiasm, and humor.

Mark sold the company's product line in 1991 and 1992 to Quality
Computers. Today, Mark helps save memories as the CEO of iPreserve, a
company specializing in photo, film, video, and document preservation.

KansasFest 2010, the 21st annual Apple II conference, is set for July
20th through July 25th at Rockhurst University in Kansas City,
Missouri. KansasFest was originally hosted by Resource Central and has
been brought to you by the KFest Committee since 1995. Any and all
Apple II and Macintosh users, fans, and friends are invited to attend
this year's "summer camp for geeks." Registration details will be
announced on the KansasFest Web site in early 2010. Please heed the
warning from Beagle Bros and refrain from feeding your disks to
alligators. For photos, schedules, and presentations from past year's
events, please visit the event's official Web site at http://www.kansasfest.org/

CONTACT:
KansasFest 2010
http://www.kansasfest.org/
http://twitter.com/kansasfest/