ALASKA PIPELINE: Amy Gwin, 43, of University City, grew up in Alaska and competed in the Miss Wasilla, Alaska, competition in 1984 against GOP vice presidential choice Sarah Palin. Gwin said Friday that she won the Miss Congeniality award in the competition, although Palin's Wikipedia entry says she won the contest — and the Miss Congeniality award. Gwin was a year behind Palin, now 44, at Wasilla High School, which had about 800 students. Gwin said Palin was "a high school star in a good way," a beauty who got good grades and excelled at athletics. Gwin, who was president of her class, does not recall Palin holding school office. The Wikipedia entry on Palin said she was head of the school's Fellowship of Christian Athletes and captain of the basketball team. Gwin said she was not surprised when Palin became the governor of Alaska, but is astonished that she got the GOP nod for vice president. Asked whether she would support Palin because she knows her, Gwin said: "I wouldn't support her if she was my very best friend. I support Obama and don't share any of her (Palin's) politics. She's very shallow." Gwin is the director of agency relations for the Rodgers Townsend advertising firm. Her husband, Brad Nuccio, is executive VP of the St. Louis Science Center. The couple have two children, Mia, 9, and Max, 7.

PRETTY JAZZY: Kim Thompson, a Pattonville High grad class of 1999, returned to her alma mater Thursday to show the students what it means to be a world class drummer. Since her high school graduation, Thompson has gone on to perform with such celebs as Beyonce' and Jay-Z, and to teach and perform in more than 33 countries. She was signed with Beyonce' as a member of the chanteuse's all-girl band that toured the world last year to promote her "B-Day" album. Thompson returned to Pattonville to visit with her former band instructor, Dennis McFarland, and students in the first-semester concert band. She also met with the Pattonville High School Jazz Ensemble and members of a beginning band class (grades kindergarten through 8) at Pattonville's Remington Traditional School. Thompson received a bachelor's degree in jazz performance and composition from the Manhattan School of Music in 2003. She has performed with such renowned jazz men as Wallace Roney, Mike Stern and Kenny Barron.

BOOK NOOK: A lineup of writers that includes Nobel Peace Prize winner Jerry White, NBC news chief Martin Fletcher, Evan Handler from "Sex and the City," Alan Zweibel from "Saturday Night Live" and sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer is on tap for the St. Louis Jewish Book Festival's 30th anniversary. Television host and former Cincinnati Mayor Jerry Springer will kick off the event Nov. 2 at 5:30 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center in Creve Coeur. The festival will conclude on Nov. 12. Marcia Evers Levy is the festival director; co-chairs are Darla Grossberg and Linda Kraus. For more information: www.stljewishbookfestival.org

BIG BRITO: In-Bev prez Carlos Brito ate lunch Thursday at McGurk's in Soulard with the owners of Lohr Distributing Co. and some Anheuser-Busch honchos. Brito's lunch group included Dave Peacock, VP of marketing at A-B; Kurt Leinauer, exec VP of operations at Lohr Distributing; Marty Sheahan, VP of sales at Lohr; Ron and Steve Lohr, owners; and Andy and Sabrina Lohr, son and daughter of the owners. The lunch wasn't Brito's first stop at one of St. Louis' more popular watering holes. Last month, he spent a couple of hours at the local St. Louis U. hot spot Humphrey's. He spoke with students there, bought everyone in the bar a drink and told listeners that (unlike some AB execs) he eschews private jets and flew into town on Southwest Airlines.

RYAN'S REIGN: For the sixth consecutive year, Sister Mary Jean Ryan, prez and CEO of St. Louis-based SSM Health Care, has been named one of the 100 most powerful people in health care by Modern Healthcare magazine. Ryan was ranked number 13 on this year's list. Others on the list include President George W. Bush and Sens. Barack Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton and John McCain. The rankings are determined by the number of votes candidates receive from Modern Healthcare readers. Ryan, a nurse, has been the head of SSM for 22 years. It is one of the largest Catholic health systems in the country and is affiliated with 20 acute care hospitals and two nursing homes in Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin and Oklahoma. Ryan is one of only a handful of nuns who still run Catholic health care systems.