Melissa Speck, a sixth-grade teacher at West Hill Elementary School in Sharon, has been named the 2003 Design-An-Ad Magazine Teacher of the Year.

The annual award is given to the area teacher who best follows the entire process involved in the competition, which involves hundreds of area students.

"It's my pleasure to give the award to Melissa this year," said Mary Beth LoScalzo, The Herald's director of the Newspaper In Education program. "Everything was submitted well ahead of time, and so organized and neat. She was a clear-cut choice this year."

The 16th annual magazine, which contained 45 ads created by students from the Mercer County area, was published in The Herald Tuesday.

"It's always a great deal of fun doing the Design-An-Ad competition," Mrs. LoScalzo said. "There are so many wonderful ads submitted. It's a tribute to the creativity of our area teachers as well as the students."