The Long Form |
I'd never even heard of the term "hyperlocal" when I first witnessed its power in the mid-90s, during a small-town city council meeting. I'd only recently moved to Bay St. Louis but joined a loose coalition of citizens attending that night. We were objecting to a "done-deal" proposal. Before the meeting, council members had expressed full support for a measure that would change every address in the city. Three and four digit numbers would be replaced with a new, completely random, five-digit number. The federal representative who addressed the council that night claimed the change was needed to improve 911 response. But before the council voted, citizens had a chance to speak. A NASA scientist who lived in town completely debunked the assertion that the change was necessary to utilize GPS technology. Businesspeople pointed out that every company in town would need new brochures, business cards and stationery - an expensive and time-consuming process. Other people argued that the old-fashioned numbers in most cases provided accurate locations. While everyone understood that 214 Main Street was on the second block from the beach, the new longer numbers would offer no geographic clues. The council voted against the proposal. A heady sense of empowerment ran through me that night. I'd never lived in a small town before or seen citizens actually influencing an official decision. In bigger cities, I'd become resigned to an individual's role as powerless bystander. Signing petitions and writing letters to officials seemed pathetic efforts to effect change. And in my experience, even established organizations with many members could only marginally raise public awareness or influence policy. A school of slender minnows trying to nudge a battleship into changing course might have better luck. That night in the meeting, I had watched minnows in a pond push a rowboat back to the dock. The experience profoundly shifted my own life's course. Instead of fretting and fuming over national issues where a single voice was powerless, I decided to focus my civic energies on issues that affected my community most, in places where participation made a real difference. Once my eyes had been opened, I recognized neighbors and friends who'd been working on that principle for years. I'd been surrounded by amazing role models all along. Now I began to learn from watching them. That experiment has lasted 25 years. In 2011, I started a little volunteer newsletter for our Fourth Ward neighborhood in Bay St. Louis. Most of the crew were older and had grown up watching "Leave it to Beaver" reruns, so we jokingly named our online publication "The Fourth Ward Cleaver." The little online publication grew in popularity and readership over the next three years. It turned out people were hungering for in-depth lifestyle coverage of their town. They devoured stories packed with information and inspiration. |
Experience
2005 - Present
PUBLICATIONS
Under Surge, Under Siege, the Odyssey of Bay St. Louis and Katrina - publisher: University Press of Mississippi, June, 2010
PHOTOJOURNALISM
(recent, selected, digital articles available on request)
Publisher/Editor - The Shoofly Magazine
an online monthly living magazine for Bay St. Louis, the Mississippi Gulf Coast
2011 - 2016
10,000 - 15,000 unique viewers per month
mission statement
MSNBC
Salon.com
Southern Cultures
Gulf Coast Woman
The Sun Herald - reporting and photography.
South Mississippi Living Magazine
Regional publications, including the Stennis News, and South Mississippi Business Journal, Gulf Coast Woman
Lead photographer and writer for 2009 - 2013 issues of Hancock Today, the annual newcomers and visitors guide to Hancock County. Also served as editor and coordinator of 2013 edition.
COMMUNITY PROJECTS
(recent, selected)
Member of Bay St. Louis Historic Preservation Commission – 2012 – present. Created educational campaign and website to improve public awareness: http://www.historicbsl.com
Board member The Arts, Hancock County – 2012 – 2014. Conceptualized and organized multi-faceted educational arts festival, involving visual, literary, musical, theatrical and culinary arts. Also designed and created website: www.ArtsAliveGulfCoast.com
Volunteer founder, writer and webmaster of “The Fourth Ward Cleaver,” a popular on-line community newsletter published monthly. www.bslfourthward.com (May 2011 – November 2013). Relaunched as a full-scale magazine, the Shoofly, in November 2014.
Conceptualized and wrote proposal for Bay St. Louis Historic Walking and Biking Tour (October, 2009). Researched and wrote booklet content and provided photography.
Served as Bay St. Louis Mayor’s appointee to the Citizen’s Advisory Committee for the city’s new post-Katrina comprehensive plan (2006 - 2008).
DOCUMENTARY
(recent, selected)
2013 - The Hand of An Unseen Poet, the Design, the Mystery and the Restoration of the Charnley Norwood House for Mississippi Department of Archives and History. Produced, wrote and directed an eleven-minute broadcast quality documentary short on behalf of Mississippi Department of Archives and History. Project documents the history of this Louis Sullivan/Frank Lloyd Wright building, explores its significance in American architectural history and details its near destruction and restoration following Hurricane Katrina. Project also included PowerPoint presentation, feature length article, research, and still photography documentation of restoration. Received Mississippi Heritage Trust Award for Excellence in Preservation Education (2014)
2011 – 2012 – The Resurrection of a Rosenwald School for Mississippi Department of Archives and History. Writer, director, photographer and videographer on two-year project that included a documentary short geared for Internet and looped playback in displays, a PowerPoint presentation, feature length article, research, and still photography documentation of restoration. Received Mississippi Heritage Trust Award for Excellence in Preservation Education (2014).
2013 - Video Tour of Hancock County Scenic Byways System - Researched, wrote, directed and provided still photography for a series of eleven video shorts (24 minutes total) hosted by local newscaster Michelle Lady, for Hancock Community Development Foundation
CLIENT LIST
(recent, selected)
Services provided include copywriting, website design and content creation, photography, press releases, newsletters, printed promotional piece and videos
Mississippi Public Broadcasting
Mississippi Department of Archives and History
Bay-Waveland Habitat for Humanity
Hancock County Tourism Development Bureau
Hancock County Chamber of Commerce
INFINITY Science Center
The City of Bay St. Louis
Hancock Medical Hospital
The Old Town Bay St. Louis Merchants Association
CONFERENCES, PRESENTATIONS, READINGS
(selected)
Oxford, Mississippi Public Library Author’s Lectures
“The Other Katrina,” March 2013
Center for the Study of the American South, UNC – Chapel Hill
“The Other Katrina”, Hutchins Lecture Series, Dec. 1, 2011
Mississippi Creative Economy Summit, Jackson, MS, sponsored by MS Development Authority and MS Arts Commission Presented “After the Deluge: How the Visual Arts Helped Bring Bay St. Louis Back to Life.” August 10, 2011.
Walter Anderson Museum of Art
“From Logs to Blogs,” an interactive workshop August 28th, 2011
Tallahassee Scientific Society
Museum of Florida History, presented “The Other Katrina, Tragedy and Triumph on the Gulf Coast” June 2, 2011
University of South Mississippi, Gulf Coast
“The Healing Power of Community” April 12, 2011
Center for the Study of Southern Culture
Oxford, MS. Future of the South Symposium, “The Gulf Oil Spill After One Year.” Panelist, April 1st, 2010
University of Alabama, Huntsville
Honors Program, presented “The Other Katrina,” Feb. 15th, 2010
Eudora Welty Symposium
MUW, presenter, Columbus, MS – October 22nd, 2010
Lauren Rogers Museum of Art
Laurel, MS – “ArtTalk” Sept. 16th, 2010
Southern Cultural Heritage Foundation
Vicksburg, MS - “A Katrina Retrospective,” panel discussion, Aug. 21st, 2010
RECOGNITIONS
2014 - Mississippi Heritage Trust Award for Excellence in Preservation Education for the documentary short, “By the Hand of the Unseen Poet”
2014 – Mississippi Heritage Trust Award for Excellence in Preservation Education for the documentary short, “The Resurrection of Randolph School”
2013 –First Prize, Southern Writers Symposium’s Emerging Writers Contest, Fiction
2012 – “Under Surge, Under Siege” short-listed as Non-Fiction finalist for the William Saroyan International Book Prize, Stanford University Libraries
2012 – AAF Addy Award, Silver, Mixed Media, Local Consumer, Team Copywriter
2011 Mississippi Library Association Non-Fiction Author’s Award for “Under Surge, Under Siege”
2010 Eudora Welty Book Prize for “Under Surge, Under Siege”
2009 - Heritage Award from the Bay St. Louis Historic Preservation Commission for "outstanding contribution to the preservation and promotion of historic Bay St. Louis."
2008 - Mississippi Public Citizen of the Year by the National Association of Social Workers, Mississippi Chapter.
2008 - Outstanding Citizen in Hancock County, MS
2007 - Literary fellowship from the Mississippi Arts Commission (2007)
2006 - “Gulf Coast Preservation Hero, ” by National Trust for Historic Preservation and Mississippi Heritage Trust
Under Surge, Under Siege, the Odyssey of Bay St. Louis and Katrina - publisher: University Press of Mississippi, June, 2010
- Eudora Welty Book Prize (2010)
- Mississippi Library Association Non-Fiction Author’s Award (2011)
- Short-listed as Non-Fiction finalist for the William Saroyan International Book Prize, Stanford University Libraries (2012)
PHOTOJOURNALISM
(recent, selected, digital articles available on request)
Publisher/Editor - The Shoofly Magazine
an online monthly living magazine for Bay St. Louis, the Mississippi Gulf Coast
2011 - 2016
10,000 - 15,000 unique viewers per month
mission statement
MSNBC
Salon.com
Southern Cultures
Gulf Coast Woman
The Sun Herald - reporting and photography.
South Mississippi Living Magazine
Regional publications, including the Stennis News, and South Mississippi Business Journal, Gulf Coast Woman
Lead photographer and writer for 2009 - 2013 issues of Hancock Today, the annual newcomers and visitors guide to Hancock County. Also served as editor and coordinator of 2013 edition.
COMMUNITY PROJECTS
(recent, selected)
Member of Bay St. Louis Historic Preservation Commission – 2012 – present. Created educational campaign and website to improve public awareness: http://www.historicbsl.com
Board member The Arts, Hancock County – 2012 – 2014. Conceptualized and organized multi-faceted educational arts festival, involving visual, literary, musical, theatrical and culinary arts. Also designed and created website: www.ArtsAliveGulfCoast.com
Volunteer founder, writer and webmaster of “The Fourth Ward Cleaver,” a popular on-line community newsletter published monthly. www.bslfourthward.com (May 2011 – November 2013). Relaunched as a full-scale magazine, the Shoofly, in November 2014.
Conceptualized and wrote proposal for Bay St. Louis Historic Walking and Biking Tour (October, 2009). Researched and wrote booklet content and provided photography.
Served as Bay St. Louis Mayor’s appointee to the Citizen’s Advisory Committee for the city’s new post-Katrina comprehensive plan (2006 - 2008).
DOCUMENTARY
(recent, selected)
2013 - The Hand of An Unseen Poet, the Design, the Mystery and the Restoration of the Charnley Norwood House for Mississippi Department of Archives and History. Produced, wrote and directed an eleven-minute broadcast quality documentary short on behalf of Mississippi Department of Archives and History. Project documents the history of this Louis Sullivan/Frank Lloyd Wright building, explores its significance in American architectural history and details its near destruction and restoration following Hurricane Katrina. Project also included PowerPoint presentation, feature length article, research, and still photography documentation of restoration. Received Mississippi Heritage Trust Award for Excellence in Preservation Education (2014)
2011 – 2012 – The Resurrection of a Rosenwald School for Mississippi Department of Archives and History. Writer, director, photographer and videographer on two-year project that included a documentary short geared for Internet and looped playback in displays, a PowerPoint presentation, feature length article, research, and still photography documentation of restoration. Received Mississippi Heritage Trust Award for Excellence in Preservation Education (2014).
2013 - Video Tour of Hancock County Scenic Byways System - Researched, wrote, directed and provided still photography for a series of eleven video shorts (24 minutes total) hosted by local newscaster Michelle Lady, for Hancock Community Development Foundation
CLIENT LIST
(recent, selected)
Services provided include copywriting, website design and content creation, photography, press releases, newsletters, printed promotional piece and videos
Mississippi Public Broadcasting
Mississippi Department of Archives and History
Bay-Waveland Habitat for Humanity
Hancock County Tourism Development Bureau
Hancock County Chamber of Commerce
INFINITY Science Center
The City of Bay St. Louis
Hancock Medical Hospital
The Old Town Bay St. Louis Merchants Association
CONFERENCES, PRESENTATIONS, READINGS
(selected)
Oxford, Mississippi Public Library Author’s Lectures
“The Other Katrina,” March 2013
Center for the Study of the American South, UNC – Chapel Hill
“The Other Katrina”, Hutchins Lecture Series, Dec. 1, 2011
Mississippi Creative Economy Summit, Jackson, MS, sponsored by MS Development Authority and MS Arts Commission Presented “After the Deluge: How the Visual Arts Helped Bring Bay St. Louis Back to Life.” August 10, 2011.
Walter Anderson Museum of Art
“From Logs to Blogs,” an interactive workshop August 28th, 2011
Tallahassee Scientific Society
Museum of Florida History, presented “The Other Katrina, Tragedy and Triumph on the Gulf Coast” June 2, 2011
University of South Mississippi, Gulf Coast
“The Healing Power of Community” April 12, 2011
Center for the Study of Southern Culture
Oxford, MS. Future of the South Symposium, “The Gulf Oil Spill After One Year.” Panelist, April 1st, 2010
University of Alabama, Huntsville
Honors Program, presented “The Other Katrina,” Feb. 15th, 2010
Eudora Welty Symposium
MUW, presenter, Columbus, MS – October 22nd, 2010
Lauren Rogers Museum of Art
Laurel, MS – “ArtTalk” Sept. 16th, 2010
Southern Cultural Heritage Foundation
Vicksburg, MS - “A Katrina Retrospective,” panel discussion, Aug. 21st, 2010
RECOGNITIONS
2014 - Mississippi Heritage Trust Award for Excellence in Preservation Education for the documentary short, “By the Hand of the Unseen Poet”
2014 – Mississippi Heritage Trust Award for Excellence in Preservation Education for the documentary short, “The Resurrection of Randolph School”
2013 –First Prize, Southern Writers Symposium’s Emerging Writers Contest, Fiction
2012 – “Under Surge, Under Siege” short-listed as Non-Fiction finalist for the William Saroyan International Book Prize, Stanford University Libraries
2012 – AAF Addy Award, Silver, Mixed Media, Local Consumer, Team Copywriter
2011 Mississippi Library Association Non-Fiction Author’s Award for “Under Surge, Under Siege”
2010 Eudora Welty Book Prize for “Under Surge, Under Siege”
2009 - Heritage Award from the Bay St. Louis Historic Preservation Commission for "outstanding contribution to the preservation and promotion of historic Bay St. Louis."
2008 - Mississippi Public Citizen of the Year by the National Association of Social Workers, Mississippi Chapter.
2008 - Outstanding Citizen in Hancock County, MS
2007 - Literary fellowship from the Mississippi Arts Commission (2007)
2006 - “Gulf Coast Preservation Hero, ” by National Trust for Historic Preservation and Mississippi Heritage Trust
Experience
1986 - 2005
Owner/Director of Quarter Moon Gallery
New Orleans, LA & Bay St. Louis, Mississippi Gulf Coast
Bay St. Louis gallery location designated as one of Southern Living Magazine’s Favorite Shops in the South for two consecutive years (2004 and 2005).
Revived and co-directed (with local artist Vicki Niolet) the popular Second Saturday Art Walk in Bay St. Louis, MS. (1996-1998), establishing the current format of the event.
Served on board of the French Quarter Business Association (1994-1996).
Awarded several honors for jewelry designs, including an Alpha Design Award.
Designed and produced jewelry lines for museums and organizations, including the Walter Anderson Museum (2005) and the Historic New Orleans Collection (2002).
New Orleans, LA & Bay St. Louis, Mississippi Gulf Coast
Bay St. Louis gallery location designated as one of Southern Living Magazine’s Favorite Shops in the South for two consecutive years (2004 and 2005).
Revived and co-directed (with local artist Vicki Niolet) the popular Second Saturday Art Walk in Bay St. Louis, MS. (1996-1998), establishing the current format of the event.
Served on board of the French Quarter Business Association (1994-1996).
Awarded several honors for jewelry designs, including an Alpha Design Award.
Designed and produced jewelry lines for museums and organizations, including the Walter Anderson Museum (2005) and the Historic New Orleans Collection (2002).
Education
BS Interdisciplinary Studies - Lipscomb University, Nashville, TN 1975 - 2014
2015 - present: Enrolled in University of New Orleans MFA Creative Writing Workshop - nonfiction
2015 - present: Enrolled in University of New Orleans MFA Creative Writing Workshop - nonfiction