Local Washington Teen Honored With the Grand Prize in Microsoft Start Something Amazing Awards
Bill Gates Recognizes 15-Year-Old Puyallup Champion Junior Drag Racer for Her Unique Use of Windows Technology
REDMOND, Wash., Nov. 10 -- After conducting a five-month nationwide search, Microsoft Corp. today announced the five winners of its Start Something Amazing Awards, honoring Jeannine Johnson of Puyallup, Wash., as the grand prize winner for her unique and inspiring use of Microsoft(R) Windows(R)-related technology to pursue her passion for drag racing. Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates will meet with Johnson today at Microsoft's headquarters, where he will present her with the award for the Sports & Games category in addition to the overall grand prize, and will discuss how she uses Windows-based technology to help monitor her race car's performance and keep it running flawlessly.
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"Today we celebrate the achievements of five highly creative individuals who used the Microsoft Windows platform to pursue their passions," Gates said. "Their stories, along with those of thousands of others who entered the Start Something Amazing Awards, are inspirational examples of the transformative power of technology."
The Start Something Amazing Awards were created to support the global awareness campaign called Start Something, one of the largest and longest marketing campaigns in the Windows brand history, which celebrates the countless possibilities for Windows to bring what people are passionate about to life using the hundreds of thousands of software applications and devices that work with Microsoft Windows XP.
Born three and a half months premature and given a 1 percent chance of survival, Johnson battled several health issues and underwent many surgeries over the years, which left her unable to participate in traditional sports. She turned to drag racing at age 9 and became one of only four National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Junior Dragsters to achieve a "perfect package" during a race, a feat that requires impeccable speed and timing. Johnson connects her Windows XP-based PC to her car and uses Crew Chief PRO software to gauge the car's data acquisition system and measure RPM, jack-shaft speed and motor temperature variances from start to finish during each race. She also relies on Windows-based technology off the track, using Microsoft Office Word and Microsoft Office PowerPoint(R) to help maintain a 3.8 grade point average and retain her racing sponsorships, as well as Windows Movie Maker to document her drag racing adventures.
"We've seen great improvements this year thanks to using Windows technologies to monitor my car's performance," Johnson said. "We were able to gather much more information from the car -- just little things we wouldn't have been able to notice without using the software to analyze the data. I want to race professionally and plan to use technology to continue improving my racing times."
As the grand prize winner, Johnson will be featured in a national Microsoft Start Something print advertisement in early 2006, which will run in Entertainment Weekly, ESPN Magazine, National Geographic and Rolling Stone. As the winner in the Sports & Games category, she will receive $5,000 worth of the latest Windows technology, including a Media Center PC, Tablet PC and iriver H10 portable music device. In addition, Johnson and a guest win a behind-the-scenes experience at ESPN's headquarters in Bristol, Conn., including a tour and an opportunity to meet personalities from ESPN's "SportsCenter," appear on ESPN2's "Cold Pizza," and have lunch or dinner with an athlete at New York City's ESPN Zone.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
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