Articles

SEE SMOKIES LIVE FOR MANY ARTICLES AND BLOG ESSAYS WRITTEN IN MY ROLE AS CREATIVE DIRECTOR AT GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS ASSOCIATION FROM 2017 TO PRESENT

AS EDITOR, I DIRECTED ALL CONTENT FOR THE LAUREL OF ASHEVILLE

The Laurel of Asheville is a monthly print magazine focused on arts and culture.

ARTICLES IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA WOMAN (2013-2014)

Former UNCA Chancellor Anne Ponder Reflects on Leadership and Asheville Life was the result of a fascinating 40 minutes interviewing the outgoing chancellor.

Linda Midgett: Making Good Television with Heart profiles female producer of the recent television series Neale Bayly Rides: Peru.

Laura Ellis Rides Peru is an exclusive look behind the scenes at the making of Fox SPEED channel’s adventure travel series documenting BMW motorcycle riders en route to a remote orphanage in South America.

People-First Tourism Gives Local Micro-Entrepreneurs a Chance profiles several small business owners in Western North Carolina who are making a living through tourism thanks to a unique web site pairing up adventurous and socially conscious tourists with charismatic providers of small group experiential travel.

Every Time I Feel the Spirit tells the story of two women, one black and one white, who are raising awareness about diversity and the history of racism in the South by taking old-time spirituals into Asheville schools.

ARTICLE IN SOPHIE MAGAZINE (2013)

Olive Oil Hunter is a profile of T.J. Robinson, who’s made a business out of scouting to discover the world’s top fresh-pressed olive oils and delivering them rapidly to members of his club in the U.S. before the oils lose freshness and flavor.

COURIER MAGAZINE ARTICLES (2002-2006)

What follows are three examples of editing to create an interview or a story that has the expert’s byline; each author provided me with their material, I organized and wrote it, then sent them my draft and they approved or made edits where necessary.

National Geographic Explorer in Residence Wade Davis

Ecolodge architect and landscape architect Hitesh Mehta

Sustainable Travel International’s founder Brian Mullis

OTHER ONLINE TRAVEL ARTICLES

“Turning Tides: Opportunities and Challenges for Ecotourism in the Bay of Fundy,” in The International Ecotourism Society’s newsletter Digital Traveler, Sept. 2008.

“Reflections on the Water: Kayaking in Costa Rica,” published by the Group Travel Leader, April 2009.

PRESENTATIONS

“Goodness Still Sells: The Media’s Role in Re-Branding Ecotourism” presented at The International Ecotourism Society’s Global Ecotourism Conference 2007, May 14-16, in Oslo, Norway. Excerpt video.

“Goodness Sells: A Modest Proposal for Re-Branding Ecotourism in the United States” presented at The International Ecotourism Society’s first ever Ecotourism in the U.S. Conference in Bar Harbor, Maine, Sept. 14-16, 2005.

“Working With the Media to Promote Your Business” presented at the National Tour Association 2004 Annual Convention in Toronto, Ontario, Nov. 12-16, 2004.

“How to Market Your Business” presented five times from March 1999 to Feb. 2002 at various institutions of learning and small business development centers in Kentucky.

CERTIFICATIONS

Outdoor Activities/Winter Workshop certification in the Saas Fee/Matterhorn Region, Switzerland, by Switzerland Tourism, Dec. 2002.

Certified Grants Specialist given by the National Grant Writers Association in cooperation with Research Associates, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, Oct. 6, 2000.

Certificate of Distinguished Service and Loyal Support for Small Business from the University of Kentucky Carol Martin Gatton College of Business and Economics Small Business Development Center, Lexington, Kentucky, for work with GO Women, Sept. 13, 2000.

RECOGNITION

Winner of the National Tour Association’s All-Star Employee of the Month award, 2004 and 2005.

Recipient of the Nineteenth Annual LOVE Award in the Adult category to honor hands-on volunteers by recognizing them for unselfish direct service to others, given by First-Link of the Bluegrass, a United Way agency, for work with GO Women, Lexington, Kentucky, April 24, 2003.

Nominee of the Working Woman Entrepreneurial Excellence Awards 2001 for commitment to business excellence and leadership and being an inspiration to all women, Working Woman magazine, Louisville, Kentucky, 2001.

Finalist in the Women Mean Business Conference 1999 Advocate for Women presented by the Kentucky Small Business Development Center and the Gatton College of Business and Economics, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, 1999.

Third place winner of the Conference on Christianity and Literature’s Student Writing Contest for “The Parallel Inversion: A Study of Exodus and Covenant Imagery and the Oppressed/Oppressor Relationship in Amos and Second Isaiah,” 1989.

First place winner of the Clark M. Brink Memorial Essay Contest from the Department of English, Kansas State University, given for the most original undergraduate essay treating or exemplifying the values of humanistic studies, 1987 and 1988.

Winner of the Hallam Walker Davis Memorial Scholarship from the Department of English, Kansas State University, given for overall outstanding work as an undergraduate English major, 1987.