I
still remember it…the day a classmate’s essay grabbed
hold of my imagination and introduced me to the possibilities
and the power of a few well chosen words. In seventh grade I knew
I had to be a writer.
So
I organized a writing group with two gullible friends. We each
spent hours pouring all the hopes and dreams about our future
lives into an action adventure fantasy that was only published
at slumber parties. My handwritten saga weighed in at 5 lbs.,
259 pages and today it has a place of honor… somewhere
under a pile of papers in the bottom of a very deep drawer.
I
did go on to major in writing in college and have contributed
articles to Guideposts magazine, Chicken Soup for the Grandma’s
Soul, Cup of Comfort for the Devotional Christian, Cup of Comfort
Women’s Devotional, the Scenic City Women’s Networker,
and The Chattanooga News-Free Press.
For two years I served as editor and columnist for the North
Hamilton Sun, a community newspaper, before accepting a job
with the abstinence education division of AAA Women’s
Services, a crisis-pregnancy center in Chattanooga. During my
five years there, I was in charge of media relations and also
assisted the director in writing two abstinence education curriculums,
the Why kNOw Abstinence Education Program for Public Schools
and the Why kNOw Abstinence Education Program for Christian
Schools. These resources, now being used nationwide and in several
foreign countries, are designed to teach teens the value of
saving sex for a faithful married relationship.
An active volunteer in my church and community, I have served
in the past as a teenage Sunday School teacher, youth counselor,
Lay Director for the Walk to Emmaus Retreat Weekend, and chairperson
for the Hixson–Soddy Daisy Community Baccalaureate Service.
I have also been employed as an assistant to the director of
geriatric activities in a local nursing home. For the past eight
years I have taught a young married adult Sunday School class
and have spoken to various women’s groups on spiritual
growth topics. I also serve on the local board of Bethany Christian
Services (a national Christian adoption agency) and have led
a Moms in Touch prayer group for area schools for a number of
years.
I graduated with a B.S. in Journalism from the University of
Tennessee serving on the editorial staff of weekly and daily
student newspapers on the Martin and Knoxville campuses. After
graduation and marriage, I was employed as a feature writer
by a west coast daily in the early 70’s before “retiring”
for a time to raise our adopted daughter and care for an elderly
grandparent in our home. My husband Jim and I have been married
for 34 years. Our 27 year-old daughter is currently serving
in the U.S. Navy.
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