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Email KimMAKC@aol.com

Forbidden by her grandfather to visit Bear Cave when she was 12, because it was too dangerous for girls, Kim went with her sister Jackie, cousin Skip Smith and neighbors Dave and Wendy Jones as soon as she got the opportunity and some willing companions about three years later. She has since made caving her life-long avocation, inspired by her grandfather, who owned Bear Cave.

She is a 1984 graduate of Seton Hill College in Greensburg, PA, with a bachelor of arts degree in English and a self-designed minor in art. She once served as editor of the Latrobe Bulletin newspaper and was a staff writer for the Indiana Gazette. She now works in public relations. Aside from caving, writing, photography and history, she has had a lifelong interest in sports, playing intercollegiate basketball and softball.

Many cavers have encountered this Hillside native walking the trail to Bear Cave with her dog Nate. She was an early member of the Loyalhanna Grotto and was the club's treasurer for many years. 

Kim spearheaded efforts by the Loyalhanna Grotto to prevent Copperhead Cave from being mined away, and has assisted other local groups in their efforts to stop the proposed Chestnut Ridge Quarry. She started mapping caves in 1993. Other projects include starting the Loyalhanna Grotto's Adopt-A-Highway program and helping at the annual Bear Cave Cleanup. She edited the 1997 Speleo-Digest. She has caved in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Kentucky, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and in the only cave in Delaware.