Currently the Director of Speech and Debate at Apple Valley High School in Minnesota and the coach of a speech team of 80 and a debate team of 40, the relationships that Pam Wycoff has formed with her students over 25 years of coaching as well as teh friends she has made across the country is waht she loves most about coaching and being part of the NFL. She and her husband Joe are a "Team" when it comes to coaching and running the Apple Valley program; however, Pam considers Joe her mentor. Her first year attending the National Tournament was the first year that Joe Wycoff coached a National Champion in Drama-so, as Pam said, "He was way ahead of me on the learning curve!"

Pam remembers attending her first District tournament in 1982 with a handful of students and thinking "I don't really know how this works, but we'll give it a try." Her student was an alternate in Humorous and she recalls how they were both so excited when they found out later that they would make the trip to San Fransisco because the qualifier had a prior commitment. "We stayed in the dorms-a unique experience in and of itself-and I have vivid memories of navigating the tournament, meeting new coaches over breakfast in the dorm cafeteria-who are still my friends today-and watching final rounds for the first time, trying to rank students in my head, and being excited if I was even close in my estimations!"

One of Pam's favorite coaching memories was in 1995 at the Nova Nationals in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, when she coached two students to the final round of Original Oratory. She said that "hearing the announcement, seeing their faces when they found out they placed first and second, and the 'group hug' afterward will forever be etched in my memory."

Pam was elected to the Council in 2004. She decided to run because as she explained, "I considered myself a fairly active and informed member of the NFL, yet the Council decision making process always seemed a bit of a mystery to me. I wondered, 'Why do some perennial concerns seem to get passed by and other ones get such priority? What needs to be done to get a voice at the meetings?' It was my belief that if the Membership doesn't know what's on the table or how to bring a voice to the table then ultimately they don't have a seat at the table. So, I ran for one reason-to form a greater connection between the Council and the membership. I wanted to have the opportunity to 'demystify' the decision making process and to openly work to meet the needs and interests of the membership."

Pam believes that "although there's always more that can be done" the Council, along with Executive Secretary Scott Wunn, has made strides toward working to make the NFL more open, user-friendly and responsive. She points to the regular use of District chair surveys, the creation of Special Ad Hoc Committees to solicit nation-wide coach perspectives on each of the competitive categories, increased publication of Council procedures and duties in the Rostrum, and the inception of the first District Chairs Convention this coming August in Ripon as evidence that the NFL is increasing dialogue and is more actively trying to bridge the membership, District leadership, and the Council to enhance the decision making process.

When asked to recall her first Council meeting experience, Pam said, "I was getting ready for the meeting in Philadelphia and to prepare, we had each been given a huge 3ring binder of about 200 pages of information, including all the individual District Chair surveys, budget expenditures and proposals, rules to revise, national tournament logistics, new initiatives to consider, and MORE. I think my yellow highlighter was completely used up while reading everything! I remember one of the other Council members commenting that there couldn’t be a tree left standing in Ripon given all the pages in that notebook." Pam went on to explain, "There’s a binder like that for every meeting. And, really, that’s the way it should be—decisions should not be made lightly or without thorough research and dialogue."

In terms of hobbies or pastimes outside of school, Pam said, "I’d like to say, I love cooking up fine cuisine—Joe especially wishes that, but anyone who knows me knows that is soooo not true." Between coaching (which is done all after school), fundraising (which she believes she has enough experience in to earn an honorary MBA), and other obligations, Pam says hobbies don’t really fit into the equation, but that once a year, she and her husband, Joe, enjoy a vacation dedicated to "taking a break." By marriage, Pam has an extended family that includes Joe’s three sons, their wives, and five grandchildren. In keeping with her love for 'fine cuisine,' Pam said her favorite tournament food is Mountain Dew. As she explained, "I know it’s not really a food but I consider it a 'nutritional essential' in the morning!"

Finally, when asked what she loves most about coaching and teaching Pam said, "It has to be the feeling you get when something finally 'clicks' and you know your student 'gets it' or things 'finally come together' and inside you know 'It was all worth it.'"