Former Herald-Tribune editor launches new book on Florida breweries
Craft beer is all the rage these days, particularly in Florida, which has earned a reputation as a hub for creative, delicious beers, with a plethora of small, medium and large breweries all over. The scene has grown so popular it’s now the subject of a book, titled, well, Florida Breweries, and it was penned by former Sarasota Herald-Tribune assistant business editor Gerard Walen.
Gerard now runs a website called Road Trips for Beer, which documents Gerard’s travels for IPAs, ales, porters and more, and he has also launched the website Beer in Florida, which is dedicated to covering all things craft beer in the Sunshine State.
Walen is celebrating the release of the new book with two parties: one at Crystal River’s Copp Brewery on Thurs., April 3, from 5:30 to 8 p.m., and one at The Ale and the Witch in St. Petersburg on Thurs., April 10, from 6 to 8 p.m. You can buy a book at the parties for $19.95 or order it on Amazon and bring it with you. Gerard says he’ll sign whatever you’ve got. Check it out! And raise a pint for me.
ABC 7 names client one of its ‘Amazing Women’ in recent segment
I had a wonderful time working with Linda Carson of ABC 7 My Suncoast News recently on a segment honoring one of my clients, Ann Stephenson-Moe, the organist and choirmaster of the Church of the Redeemer. The segment celebrated Ann’s 40th year of contributing fantastic music education and opportunities and putting together a great music series both for the church and for all of southwest Florida.
You can watch the segment here, or over on ABC 7’s site:
Booklet for Client Showcases Stunning Art at Church
I recently created a booklet for one of my clients, Sarasota’s Church of the Redeemer. The 16-page booklet explains the complex imagery in a 30′ x 30′ icon installed at Redeemer by world-renowned religious iconographer Eliseea Papacioc. I was the project manager for the booklet, and spent months researching, interviewing the church’s historiographer, theologian-in-residence and rector, and also edited the booklet and contributed writing as well. I worked with a local photographer to capture the full beauty of the images, and a local printer to make sure the booklet turned out perfectly.
If you’d like to see the results, download a full PDF copy of the booklet by clicking here, or just check out the cover and a sample page below. Or if you visit the Church of the Redeemer, look for this booklet in the Narthex or pews.
New website launched for Phoenix client
Working with Sarasota’s Brighter Technologies, I recently created a new website for my Phoenix, Ariz., client, Viewpoint Group. Here’s a screenshot of the homepage — click on the image to check out the full site:
Client named top 10 sustainable architecture firm in the nation
Add more major recognition to EYP Architecture & Engineering’s banner year! Already in 2013, my longtime client has been named among the top architecture firms in the world and a national leader in green design — and now Architect magazine, published by the American Institute of Architects, has ranked the firm as the ninth-best sustainable firm in the nation and the 13th-best firm overall.
The magazine’s methodology drew on a wide range of metrics, from a firm’s net revenue per employee, to its portion of LEED-certified projects and an analysis of design portfolios. The American Institute of Architects, based in Washington, D.C., has been the leading professional membership organization for American architects since 1857, and has nearly 300 state and local chapters.
I’m a freelancer for EYP’s internal communications team, and have been working with the company for a dozen years. Congrats to them!
Sarasota poet offers meditation on mourning a pet
For all those out there who love their dogs, Sarasota poet Arlene Klein recently republished a collection titled I Never Wanted to Say Goodbye: Gentle Words to Comfort Those Who Mourn the Loss of a Pet. Klein calls the book “a testament to the joy of living with pets and the sorrow of losing them.”
“The book is a collection of poems, written as a tribute to the dogs I loved and lost,” she writes. “Gentle words to comfort those who mourn the loss of a beloved pet. It touches the heart and is an inspiration to embrace every magical moment we share with our furry friends.”
Originally published in 1995, the book was nominated for a Dog Writers Association of America Maxwell award. Klein released a revised edition two years ago — she even got Betty White to write the foreword.
A portion of book sale proceeds goes to the Morris Animal Foundation for canine health studies.
Client named national leader in green design
The hits just keep on coming for my client EYP Architecture & Engineering! A few weeks ago, the company was named one of the top architecture firms in the world, and now Engineering News-Record magazine has named it a national leader in green design in three categories:
- No. 2 in the education sector
- No. 3 in the government sector
- No. 11 overall
I’m a freelance component of EYP’s internal communications team, and have been working with the company since 2001. Congrats to EYP yet again!
Mind-body experience expansion (No LSD required)
Terry DeMeo
I recently spent some time working with Martha Beck Master Certified life coach Terry DeMeo. My work with Terry has turned my life in a virtual Inner 180. It’s not hyperbole to say Terry’s coaching taught me tools I’d never known existed and, seriously, she pretty much blew the lid off (or, actually taught me how to blow the lid off myself) of many of my closest-held assumptions about myself, and the way I think, work and move in the world.
Our work covered personal and professional areas and, well, I can’t recommend her enough if you are seriously seeking to eliminate the roadblocks you’ve created in your life. ‘Cause that’s the biggest lesson, that I thought I knew already before working with her, but soon realized that I had only understood the concept on an intellectual level: the roadblock to experiencing your life the way you want to experience it isn’t your parent, your boss, your job or your broken-down-old car. The barriers between you and the life you want to live aren’t put there by boyfriends or thundershowers or a penchant for chocolate. The only thing getting in your way is you.
Working with Terry one-on-one was the best learning investment I’ve made in myself since working three jobs and seven days a week to put myself through college.
A lawyer-turned-life coach based in Coconut Grove, Florida, Terry’s mission is simple: helping intelligent people solve problems and transcend challenges. And I loved that she communicated and worked with me from both an emotional POV and a scientific one. She taught me a lot about how the brain works (and a not insignificant amount about how the body works).
No less an authority than Martha Beck, the bestselling author and Oprah magazine columnist, calls her “a wise, inspiring coach with the experience, emotional intelligence, and intellect to guide you through virtually anything.”
I encourage you to check out her Facebook page her Facebook page, and website (linked above), where she publishes her own thoughts, like this one I loved: on the discipline of writing.
Client ranked number 39 in list of 300 best architecture firms
Architectural Record recently unveiled its annual list of the world’s top 300 architecture firms, and I’m proud to report that EYP Architecture & Engineering, one of my long-term clients, earned the number 39 spot. That’s up from 43rd place last year.
The magazine ranks the companies by their architectural revenue, and according to its numbers, EYP earned $51 million last year. I’m a freelance component of EYP’s internal communications team, and have been working with the company since 2001. Congrats to EYP!
Client’s memoir named 2013 Indie Book Awards finalist
Well… this is huge news: A memoir by one of my longtime clients has been named a 2013 Indie Book Awards finalist!
I have worked with Jay Lefevers, the founder and president of the Phoenix-based appraisal company Viewpoint Group, since all the way back in 1998, and a couple years ago I became involved with his autobiography, Cancer on the Brain. I helped edit the book, I manage Jay’s website and I’ve been handling P.R. for the memoir for the past year.
In the book, Lefevers takes readers through the bewildering world of surgeries, treatments and endless rounds of doctor visits and hospital stays with humor, irreverence and a no-nonsense, no-self-pity attitude. A large part of the memoir is dedicated to telling the story of the young Phoenix-area Little League players whom Lefevers coached throughout 2005 and 2007. Lefevers writes movingly of the bonds he and his family established with the players, all while he struggled with surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
I love the book, and apparently so does the Next Generation Indie Book Awards, which named it a 2013 general nonfiction finalist. The Indie Book Awards is the nation’s largest independent book awards organization, and it recognizes and honors the most exceptional independently published books in 60 different categories each year. Congratulations, Jay!