Meet a Member: B.B. Shamp

B.B. Shamp is a newcomer to NFPW. She joined six months ago and she is already a national award winner. She will be attending the NFPW conference in Alabama, thanks in part to an Education Fund First Timer Grant. She says she looks forward to networking with members, attending workshops and picking up her national first place award for the adult novel she wrote. Enjoy getting to know this unique and unbelievable member.

Name: B.B. Shamp

City and State: Selbyville, Delaware, 2.5 miles from the ocean on an inland bay with 180 degree water views. Wait 10 minutes and the light changes and everything with it. I live on what’s known as the Delmarva Peninsula. Lower Delaware and the Eastern Shores of Maryland and Virginia are very rural.

B.B. Shamp

Affiliate and any leadership positions: Delaware Press Association. I’m a newbie. Writing was not my career (except for writing educational evaluations) and a friend encouraged me to join this past year. I spent 34 years teaching H.S. special education in the Washington D.C. Metro area where I grew up. That kind of experience leaves a stamp, politically, and of course, as a social progressive.

Years a member of NFPW: 6 months

Tell us a little about you.

This is an excerpt from a press release here on the Peninsula: B.B. Shamp began writing after an accident and a near death experience in 2008. Beginning with poetry, she wrote to explore her thoughts and feelings during rehabilitation. Sustaining her in these difficult moments was the euphoric memory of seeing the white light. Despite a traumatic brain injury and being diagnosed with PTSD, she fought hard to return to her former self and in doing so discovered a new person. Never able to return to her old life, she figured that if she could write a suspense novel and lay breadcrumbs for the reader to follow, she had at least regained her voice and ability to communicate.

Her first novel, Third Haven, is the culmination of that work. “I didn’t begin with a desire to publish for a wider audience,” she said. “It was a personal journey.” She is currently working on a sequel. Asked if she has any plans to write a memoir, she responded, “That story should explore the depths of love and persistence. There are so many people I owe so much who helped me along the way. That’s going to take time.”

Any career advice you would give?

In the last five months, I’ve heard mostly how hard it is to get a publisher, how hard it is to support yourself. And I even heard from a 55 year old MFA department chair who still has student loans. All this reminds me of the Dickensian character locked in a cold garret, pouring out her soul by the light of a sputtering candle, her fingers freezing as the words are scratched across the parchment. Is the message meant to discourage anyone of a literary bent and demand they go find a REAL job? I hope NOT! The hard part, if you’re just starting out in this field is to know whether you have the knack for it. The field is so damn competitive that in my mind, the genuine response is to write because it answers some inner quest. If your real job is soul smothering, then keep writing to find your strength. I wrote to find myself. I still have moments when I’m aphasic, blank on word retrieval or experience mental whiteout. Writing gets me past it. And a good thesarus, of course!

Which talent would you most like to have?

To be a fabulous painter….in oils…dirty fingernails and the smell of linseed oil are evocative of a different world.

If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

Everywhere. I’d love to have a bed in every picturesque town in the world if only for two weeks.

What book are you reading?

What is Left the Daughter by Howard Norman and Jillian Sullivan’s book of poetry, Parallel.

What would people be surprised to learn about you?

Dead family members make great inspiration.

Why is your affiliate and NFPW important to you?

The support, for god’s sake! Writing is such a lonely vocation and living on the Peninsula makes that even harder since you have to drive far and wide to connect with other writers.

Way to follow you on a website, twitter, Facebook, etc.

http://www.bbshamp.com and on facebook as bbshamp.

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Meet a Member: Mark Fowser

One of our valued members is Delaware Press Association Mark Fowser. Fowser and his team are leading one of the most active NFPW affiliates. They have outstanding programs and last year won the affiliate sweepstakes award in the NFPW communications contest . He is another example of an outstanding NFPW member. I am honored to call him a friend.

Mark Fowser

Name: Mark Fowser

 

City and State: New Castle, Delaware

Affiliate and any leadership positions:

Delaware Press Association President; past Treasurer; 2016 Communicator of Achievement

Years a member of NFPW: 15

Tell us a little about you.

I have been involved in journalism (broadcast and print) for more than 30 years, and it is something I’ve wanted to do since I was young. The first job I had was as an overnight announcer and disc jockey at a nostalgia station near the New Jersey shore, playing Big Band, Sinatra and Easy Listening tunes and reading news from the wire each hour. Then, I became that station’s News Director, overseeing a staff of one (myself).

After a few years I headed to northern New Jersey for a job in which I anchored radio news for half the day and worked on the nightly news show for a local cable TV channel the other half of the day. Here, I was really able to broaden my horizons and cover a number of important and interesting stories – a hot-air balloon ride, a rafting trip down the Delaware River, a visit below ground to an abandoned zinc mine, and a mountaintop wedding at a ski resort. The first time I ever donated blood, the cameras were rolling.

The opportunity to return to my native Delaware was too good to pass up, however. I have enjoyed various opportunities for more than two decades in news and talk radio, public radio and television, and online journalism. I have been with Delaware1059 radio since its beginning in September, 2012. 

Any career advice you would give?

Learn; ask; intern; explore; join. Find your passion, but realize that it may take several attempts to do that – and, that’s OK.

Mark Fowser

 

 

Which talent would you most like to have?

I would like to sing better, and perhaps learn a musical instrument to accompany or drown out my singing.

If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

I have been very happy living in the Mid-Atlantic region (Delaware or New Jersey). The 2009 NFPW conference got me very intrigued about San Antonio. If I were to pick another country, it would probably be Spain. 

What book are you reading?

“Driving Home” by Jonathan Raban

What would people be surprised to learn about you?

I never traveled far until about 13 years ago; now, I try to get far away once a year.

I am a little introverted considering the profession I have chosen.

And, I follow Philadelphia Flyers hockey with the passion normally seen in English soccer (minus the hooliganism).

Why is your affiliate and NFPW important to you?

I am grateful to DPA and NFPW for the opportunity to network, to take part in contests and learn valuable feedback from peers, to have attended three national conferences, to have a role in high school contests that will hopefully encourage the next generation, and most of all for long-lasting friendships and relationships that have developed.

Way to follow you on a website, twitter, Facebook, etc.

https://twitter.com/markfowser

https://www.facebook.com/mark.fowser

Delaware1059 blog: http://delaware1059.com/blog/section.php?sectionid=4

Meet a Member: Karen Galanaugh

When I think of a public relations professional, Karen Galanaugh is one of the first people I think of. She is a bundle of creative energy and always looking for ways to do things better. One of the highlights of the pre-tour before the NFPW conference in Idaho in 2008 was getting to know Karen’s sisters who joined us for the trip. What a great family. We had so much fun on the trip and I have enjoyed our friendship through NFPW for many years. Meet my friend, Karen Galanaugh.

Karen Galanaugh

Name: Karen Galanaugh, APR

City and State: Wellington, FL and Wilmington, DE

Affiliate and any leadership positions:

Delaware Press Association, NFPW National Communications Annual Contest, Director 2006-2008

Years a member of NFPW: Joined 1999

Tell us a little about you

I am the youngest of a large Irish Catholic working class family from Southwest Philadelphia. There are 24 years between me and the first born. My older siblings broke out of the neighborhood and shared interesting and diverse journeys with little sister Karen. Wow, what a ride. Among my siblings: VOGUE cover model, a celebrated artist, lesbian minister, baseball players, news guys—a weird mix of wonderful. I brought my sisters with me to the NFPW conference in Idaho a few years ago and they joined members on the tours. What a hoot.

I have been accredited in Public Relations since 1993: I had been in public relations for nine years at that point and had worked in New York City on some very high profile issues—thrown into the fire immediately after college. I am presently a member of three PRSA chapters: Philadelphia, State of Delaware, and Palm Beach. I served as president of the State of Delaware PRSA Chapter and for many years was the PRSSA (student association) professional liaison to PRSSA college students in both Philadelphia and Delaware. I loved working with the students and helping them succeed in living their dreams.

If I was not a public relations professional, I’d probably be a journalist. Funny, with the downsizing of major newspapers across the U.S., laid off journalists are filling jobs in public relations. I remember a few purist journalists who thought all PR people were “hacks.” Boy, things have changed. We are respected.

I love to learn. I feel pretty darned lucky to be in a job where every day presents a new topic and learning opportunities. PR is not boring.

Idaho pre-conference tour group near Sun Valley. Karen Galanaugh and her sisters joined the tour they are back row from left in matching hats: Lynne Kelley in white, Joyce Berger light green, NFPW member Kat Ward, Karen Galanaugh and Carole Lavin.

Any career advice you would give?

Don’t post anything on the web that you wouldn’t want your employers to see. Never betray a colleague or friend. And, listen to your heart. Learn Spanish.

Which talent would you most like to have?

I would like to speak Spanish. Spanish language is common where I live and I want to be a part of the community.

If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

I selected where I am living now, Wellington, Florida, the winter equestrian capital of the world. It is beautiful here and I like being around horses. If I had more money, I’d have a place at the Delaware shore too—closer to my siblings.

What book are you reading?

The Real Life MBA by Jack and Susy Welch. I am finishing my real life Masters in the Science of Management ( MSM) at Wilmington University in June. It’s been a long hard journey. My studies continued through a terrible marital separation, divorce, and move of 900 miles away to start a new life in Florida. I remember filing a class paper while on the road to Florida with my dog and cat in the back seat. Glad I had this scholastic anchor to help me focus on something positive for my future.

I am a guest lecturer at several colleges. I am told I am good at teaching, but if I ever wanted to come onboard as staff, I should have a Master’s Degree. My plan is to teach college level courses in my retirement: public relations, marketing communication, and organizational leadership.

What would people be surprised to learn about you?

I love horses, horse sports and just being around horses. I used to ride. I actually trained racetrack horses for other careers as hunter/jumpers and pleasure horses. I was an inner city Philadelphia kid and mucked stalls for ride time. I was a fearless hack with horsesence, but it wasn’t until I could afford formal lessons in my forties, that I began to show in regional shows. I had to stop riding because of the pull of gravity—too many falls off resistant horses, too many concussions. The doctor said, “Take up golf.” I took up tennis and eventually became a very good club player.

Why is your affiliate and NFPW important to you?

DPA is like a family. It’s a small world business environment and it’s nice to be a part of it. NFPW is the same. I am fond of the people I have met through NFPW.

Way to follow you on a website, twitter, Facebook, etc.

http://www.galanaugh.com,

Twitter @KarenGalanaugh

Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/galanaugh

New online NFPW communications contest becomes a labor of love for Katherine Ward

She is a visionary who is helping NFPW move to an online communications contest. It was a labor of blood, sweat and tears – and many all-nighters — to accomplish the task. She is a professional at everything she manages. Many members asked me what could be done to recognize Katherine Ward and all her efforts on behalf of an organization we love. I was honored to present her with the NFPW President’s Award at our September conference in South Carolina to recognize her efforts. She is the wonder woman who lead the way to our new online communications contest. Met unique and unbelievable Katherine Ward.

Katherine Ward accepts her NFPW President’s Award.

Name: Katherine Ward

Address: Wilmington, Delaware

Year joined NFPW: 1990

Affiliate: Delaware Press Association where she serves as executive director

Leadership positions: She has served on the NFPW board of directors as an adviser to several presidents and, together with Jane Lee (Kansas affiliate), created the NFPW membership brochure. She has held many DPA board positions, including newsletter editor and communications contest director, and two terms as president. Director of NFPW’s 2003 national communications conference, “Brave New Media World,” hosted by DPA and held in Wilmington, she was named DPA’s Communicator of Achievement in 2007.

Katherine received a B.A. in English and a secondary teaching certificate from Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa., and an M.A. in English and Irish literature from Simmons College in Boston. Writing and editing have been a constant in her life and early-on led to a job as newsletter editor and PR director for the Museum of the Confederacy, in Richmond, Va.

She is co-author/editor of two books on Delaware women and is a national award-winning editor of numerous books, including Write Home for Me (Random House Australia, 2006), a memoir by Australian journalist Jean Lamensdorf and the extraordinary year she spent working for the Australian Red Cross in the stifling field hospitals near the front lines of battle in South Vietnam from June of 1966 to June of 1967. Katherine says, “The author and I wore goofy smiles, to say the least, when we learned that by the second week of publication the book was number one on the bestseller list in South Australia – with The Da Vinci Code at number eight.” The author received first place in the 2007 NFPW Communications Contest for writing, and Katherine received the first place for book editing.

That same year Katherine also received a first for editing the DPA quarterly electronic newsletter, a first for a PR campaign for the 25th anniversary of the Hall of Fame of Delaware Women (HFDW), and a second for the PowerPoint presentation she created for the awards banquet for HFDW’s 25th anniversary, featuring each of the then 92 women, including her mother, inducted into HFDW since its inception in 1981. The PR campaign and The Legacy Endures, the accompanying book about the honorees that she edited, helped the Delaware Commission for Women, HFDW’s sponsoring organization, gain national recognition.

Katherine Ward, left, accepts a first place award from Marsha Shuler for book editing in 2007.

Almost all of the books Katherine has edited — including memoirs, young adult fiction, a scholarly book on religion — have received a first in the NFPW contest. Other NFPW contest awards: a first for a speech (eulogy for Sally Rinard, a high school classmate and DPA/NFPW colleague), and a first for a media kit for “The Power of the Student Press: A First Amendment Workshop” that DPA held for Delaware High School journalism students and featured former NFPW President Marj Carpenter as the powerful and captivating keynote speaker.

She says: “My favorite writing project was ‘publishing’ a book for each of my granddaughters, who live near the Jersey Shore and stayed with me after Hurricane Sandy for two freezing cold weeks during which they had no power in their home. Kate (then 8) and Claire (then 6) wrote stories and poems (and even an essay, by Kate, on why cats make good pets) and produced charming illustrations. They chose the typefaces, colors, and design elements. ‘About the Author’ on the back cover of each ‘book’ has a color photo and a bio. My sweet little cat, Noëlle (then 15), was thrilled to be featured in both books.”

For several years she was president of the Prison Arts Advisory Board for the Delaware Department of Correction. A longtime board member of the Delaware Coalition for Open Government, she serves as director of membership and created and maintains their website.

Katherine relates a story for the “press” in all of us: “When in China in October 2011, on the morning the news of Moammar Gadhafi’s death was announced, all of the hundreds of television sets in our hotel suddenly stopped working, and, for some hours, many online news sources were blocked. Our guide in Shanghai, who unexpectedly spoke of the hardships his family suffered during Chairman Mao’s Cultural Revolution, was not to be deterred. He pulled out his iPad and began searching until he came up with some bits of information. Those of us on the tour were glad we lived in the good old USA.”

Things you may be surprised to learn about her:

• A native Texan, she has lived in 11 states, but called Delaware home throughout her childhood and has again for the last 25 years, living in the house in Wilmington in which she grew up.
• She and her mother, Mary Sam Ward, a founding member of Delaware Press Association, co-authored (and Katherine edited) Delaware Women Remembered (Modern Press, 1977), a Bicentennial gift to the state of Delaware and the first book to chronicle the lives of Delaware women. Katherine was honored to name Mary Sam one of NFPW’s Women of the Millennium at the Alaska conference in 2000.
• She missed the Arizona conference in 2012 because she was orchestrating two 50-year high school reunions, taking place within a few weeks of each other.
• She got her favorite Christmas present ever when Santa brought her a radial arm saw. She says she was born to be a carpenter.
• She gave up playing league softball at 40 even though her spikes still has some life left in them (too many opportunities to get hurt), but still plays golf occasionally.
• Since 1993, she has made more than 3,000 bags of 10-Bean Soup for her church’s Green Show (a two-day Christmas bazaar that raises money entirely for outreach into the local community). She gives some bags to DPA for their annual holiday luncheon, and profits go toward professional development programs. A bag or two can be found in the NFPW Silent Auction every year. You can bid on one next year.
• When need be, she can still pull 2 or 3 all-nighters a week and not be cranky.
• She makes the best crab cakes in the state of Delaware.
  

  Katherine Ward

Over the last two years, Katherine has edited Flivverin With You, a collection of love letters written by Ken Slifer and Caryl Dutton from 1923 to 1928. The letters (nearly 400 survive), penned by the grandparents of one of Katherine’s DPA colleagues, Wendy Scott, and curated by her mother, author Diane Slifer Scott (three books on Habitat for Humanity), create a fascinating rear-view-mirror glimpse into the nature of life and love, as experienced by two extraordinary young people in the 1920s. The letters stopped when Ken and Caryl were wed in September of 1928, but the love affair continued for the next 63 years. The book, illustrated by Ken’s beautifully painted envelopes and endorsed by Jimmy Carter, will be published this month. See more of Ken’s artwork at http://www.flivverinwithyou.com.

Katherine has two sons and two granddaughters. Her husband, Jim, often goes on the NFPW pre- and post-conference tours, has served as the photographer for several NFPW events over the years, and counts many NFPW members among his good friends.

Ways to contact Katherine:

Call 302-655-2175 or email DelawarePress@aol.com.

Delaware member shows passion for historical and vintage fashion

Karen Jessee

Karen Jessee and Thomas Tear dressed for a performance.

I met Karen Jessee this year at the NFPW conference in Salt Lake City. She was one of our first-time attendees and she immediately fit in. She stayed for the NFPW post-tour to the Moab area and that is when I learned about her passion for women’s historical and vintage fashion and how she performs in two shows for the Delaware Humanities Forum.  Learn more about this unique, unbelievable member from Delaware.

Name: Karen Jessee

City and State:  Wilmington, Delaware

Years a member of NFPW and positions : Events Coordinator for the Delaware Press Association.  I have been a member of  NFPW for a year now and just attended my first conference in Utah.  When people asked what I thought of it, my only response was “More…; more friendly, more professional, more informative and more helpful than I could have ever expected.”  It may be my first; it is surely not my last.

Briefly tell us a little about you.

I was an educator for 30 years; nominated twice for Teacher of the Year and recipient of the NBC National Teacher Award.  Once retired, I began my own business as a professional organizer.  I became a writer on the subject of getting and staying organized for Living Well magazine which led to speaking opportunities and workshops.  I am also a speaker on women’s historical dressing and have two shows with the Delaware Humanities Forum: The Way We Wore: 200 years of the feminine silhouette which covers everything from bustles to bellbottoms, and  Close to the Vest & Under the Skirt: the dresses and dressing of the 1860s lady and gentleman, which I perform with Thomas Tear.  In each case, I connect the dots between women, the history that influenced their fashion, and the clothes that tell their story.

I switched careers because I took the time to make “the list”…the list of what I would and would not do for the next 10 or 15 years of my life after years in the classroom.  I embraced that list and it became prophetic.  I became an organizer because I met a man who was going through a series of disasters and had no time to pull his new home together.  On a whim, I suggested that he should hire me. He loved my work and when he told me I should make this my next career,  I looked up “professional organizing” and discovered that the National Association of Professional Organizers was having a convention in 3 weeks.  I bought the plane ticket, took the courses, crossed a lot of palms with silver and invested the money and time required to reinvent myself.  Make the list.  Know what you will and will not do.  Be open to new ideas and opportunities and be flexible.

If I could have any talent, it would be the ability to sing, to have that crystal clear sound issue forth to give life to music.   I lost much of my hearing in my 30s due to an illness, and lost years of music and whatever voice I had…not that it was ever anything great.   Today, I can croak out a tune with the best of frogs.

I’m pretty happy living in Wilmington; it’s a small, manageable and affordable city where I live close to the opera house, theatres, the art museum, restaurants and a great deal of convenience. There’s an extension of the University of Delaware down the road from me. Philly, New York and Washington are a train ride away.

What book are you currently reading?

I’ve just started the book I won at the silent auction at the NFPW convention!. Thank you to the lovely person who put The Shoemaker’s Wife by Adriana Trigiani on the table.  I bid on it because the woman on the cover was wearing a fabulous red dress, but you have introduced me to a new writer.  I’m hoping to read more of her works.  I just finished Malcolm Gladwell’s What the Dog Saw.

I’m a collector of women’s historical and vintage fashion and accessories. I’ve traveled twice to England for historical fashion study and to participate in the Jane Austen Promenade where thousands of people dress in Regency attire and parade through the streets of Bath England. As one who is the master of the glue gun but not the needle, I was in awe of the many women on the trip who could have been considered professional seamstresses.  Two of the women had their works in museums. I came home with behind-the-scenes photographs of corsets and bustles that became a part of my shows, but that still make me wonder how women wore such things.  Pictured are my 1870s wedding gown and an x-ray of a fully-boned corset.

Being a part of the Delaware Press Association and the NFPW has been the golden opportunity to meet the most remarkable people with the most remarkable stories.  At a recent DPA luncheon, I learned that the man sitting next to me had begun work as a garbage man and was now a celebrated artist.  He was a decorated Vietnam vet and spoke of a myriad of other jobs that afforded him remarkable social connections.  By the end of the lunch I wanted to be his biographer.  I can duplicate that awe in people and their stories at almost every gathering.

You can find Karen on Facebook, but that’s about it.  Here are two websites; the latter is in development:  http://www.nowsimplyorganized.com and http://www.thewayweworeit.com.

She is looking forward to seeing all of you in South Carolina where women in hoops and petticoats abound.