Meet a Member: Michelle Harmon

Michelle Harmon will soon be attending her first NFPW national conference in Birmingham, Alabama. It will be fun to introduce her to all our amazing members. When she was a senior at Borah High School in 1980, I was honored to award her first place in the high school writing contest feature writing category during my first term as the Idaho affiliate president. The past several years she has been special to Media Network Idaho in her position as adviser to the Borah High School newspaper and her work as president of the Idaho Student Journalism Association. The Borah student newspaper is one of the top journalism programs in Idaho and usually wins the MNI High School Communications Contest sweepstakes award, like it did this spring. Take a minute to get to know this unique and unbelievable member and be sure to welcome her during our conference in Alabama.

Name: Michelle Harmon

City and State: Boise, Idaho

Michelle Harmon

Affiliate and any leadership positions: Media Network Idaho member and Idaho State Director, Journalism Education Association / President, Idaho Student Journalism Association

Years a member of NFPW: Two

Tell us a little about you.

My first foray into journalism was in eighth grade, when a teacher earmarked me to type the school newsletter. By high school, I had earned a full-ride tuition scholarship to The Ohio State University (1980-1984). I’m a bit of a butterfly in that I took jobs that would allow me to travel, lived in New York City for 12 years.

After 9-11, I rearranged priorities again, and got my master’s in education. I parlayed my teaching certificate to return to Boise, get married, and teach in the same high school news room that my mentor teacher was in. I retired from the Boise School District in May after 13 years of advising the newspaper staff. I finally feel savvy and confident enough to be a writer!

Any career advice you would give?

Never let money be your main motivation. Do what makes you happy, and the money will come.

Michelle Harmon was named 2014 Journalism Educator of the Year by Youth Journalism International

Which talent would you most like to have?

I would love to be able to sing and dance. I wasn’t lucky enough for them to come with my writing talent.

If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

Where I live, Boise, Idaho.

What book are you reading?

Rin Tin Tin by Susan Orlando. I also recently read Wallace Stegner’s Angle of Repose. I am also reading an academic introduction to Hamlet, because that is one of my next profile/feature pieces I will write.

What would people be surprised to learn about you?

I’m an Army brat — lived in 5 states by the time I was 5 years old. I think it gave me the travel bug that distracted me after I graduated college.

Why is your affiliate and NFPW important to you?

1980 Idaho Press Women high school writing contest first place award for feature writing.

Originally, NFPW and Media Network Idaho were important to me as a high school newspaper adviser. My students always did well, and the awards they won were invaluable to them and their parents. For example, one autistic student that graduated from my newspaper program went to college (a revived dream for the student’s parents) and wrote movie reviews for the university’s newspaper (print and online).

Earlier this year, I discovered my own high school first place feature award from Teri and the Idaho Affiliate. Now, NFPW is recognizing my writing on a national level nearly 40 years later. It’s confirmation that I have the talent to write, and I should be doing so.

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

Twitter: @mrharmon

Advertisement

Meet a Member: Peggy Parks

I met my friend Peggy Parks in 1978 when she was a presenter at our Idaho Press Women conference in Challis. We convinced her to join the organization and she has been a key member ever since. She helped organize three national conferences — two as part of the “Fearsome Foursome” team who lead the NFPW conferences in Idaho Falls and Salt Lake City. She is an awesome woman and community volunteer. All her efforts supporting NFPW and her community earned her the designation as first runner-up to the 2007 Communicator of Achievement when Peggyann Hutchinson was honored as COA. It is an honor to recognize this unique and unbelievable NFPW member, Peggy Parks.

Peggy Parks

Name: Peggy Parks

City and State: Challis, ID

Affiliate and any leadership positions

Media Network Idaho (formerly Idaho Press Women). I served as president for two years in the early 90’s and as treasurer since then. I was also involved in planning the NFPW conference in Coeur d’ Alene in 1989, the one in Idaho Falls in 2008 and the Salt Lake City conference in 2013.

Years a member of NFPW

Idaho Press Women held a fall meeting in Challis in 1978 and my husband and I were asked to present a workshop on running a small town newspaper. We were so impressed with the women we met there, we both joined.

In a couple of paragraphs, tell us a little about you.

I was owner, publisher and editor of the Challis Messenger newspaper for 32 years. Before that I worked in biomedical research for 11 years. Since selling the newspaper and retiring 10 years ago, I have remained active in Media Network Idaho.  Locally, I have been active in the North Custer Historical Society and Challis Senior Citizens, serving as treasurer for both organizations. I am also a volunteer Medicare counselor.

Since retiring and having had four joint replacement surgeries, I have taken advantage of having more free time and increased mobility to do a lot of travelling. In the past couple of years I’ve been able to take several NFPW pre or post conference tours, have been to Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, South American, the British Isles twice, Greece and Turkey. After Alaska this fall, I have scheduled a tour of five different countries in the Alpine region of Europe, followed next spring with a cruise along the Iberian coast to Morocco. I hope to continue to travel as long as my health allows.

Peggy Parks, front and center, as part of the Fearsome Foursome team inviting NFPW delegates to Idaho Falls in 2007. From left, Cathy Koon, Teri Ehresman, Parks and Kitty Fleischman.

Any career advice you would give?

Never be afraid to try something new.

Which talent would you most like to have?

I wish I had more musical and artistic talent.

If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

I love Idaho and living in Challis, but eventually would prefer to live somewhere a little larger and closer to family. I love to travel, so somewhere with an airport nearby would be nice.

What book are you reading?

Nothing to Lose by Lee Child. Next on my list is The Source by James Mitchner. I read it years ago and loved it, so I’m going to read it again.

What would people be surprised to learn about you

The last thing I ever thought I would do in my life is run a newspaper. The only things I had ever written before my husband and I bought the paper in 1972 were scientific papers. I still didn’t do much writing until I took over the paper by myself in 1983, then was forced into it when my only reporter quit in the middle of a busy week without writing a single story. I don’t do much writing now except occasional press releases for the organizations I belong to.

Peggy Parks with her grandchildren Thomas and Maggie in this 2009 photo.

Why is your affiliate and NFPW important to you?

I treasure the friends I have made in the organization and the opportunity it provides to mingle with people outside of my usual circle of friends.

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

Facebook or e-mail pegparks@custertel.net

Idaho native Cathy Koon shares talents, dedication with state and national members

I recruited her to join NFPW many years ago and I have enjoyed our time together at state and national conferences ever since. Many of you lovingly dubbed her the “bag lady” after she used her creative talents to hand design the NFPW conference bags for last year’s conference in Salt Lake City.  She is loyal and the best friend you could ever ask for. She loves NFPW and it shows by all the ways she gives of her time and talents. Our organization is better because of this unique and unbelievable member. Meet my awesome friend, Cathy Koon.

Cathy Koon

Name: Cathy Koon

City and State: St. Anthony, Idaho, born and raised

Affiliate and any leadership positions: Media Network Idaho, currently serving as president; treasurer of the NFPW Education Fund; editor of NFPW AGENDA magazine.

Years a member of NFPW: Since 1980

Tell us a little about you:

I am a small-town girl at heart, but I love traveling to all the places we hold NFPW conferences. I have seen a lot of this wonderful country through my membership, places I would never have seen otherwise.

I am proud to be the daughter of a U.S. Army veteran who served in Europe during WWII and again in Korea. My ex-husband retired after 25 years with the Army and the Army National Guard, and my daughter Terra served with the Idaho National Guard in Iraq. I am proud to be an American, and that influences many of my decisions in life.

I am also the grandmother of four young boys who keep me on my toes.

Any career advice you would give?

Growing up, most people expected to enter a career field and retire there. Today, they say people will change careers several times in their lives. So I think it is important to find a career that suites your likes and your lifestyle to work at what you love and love your work. Learn to be flexible, keep learning, and always do your best. Don’t become a dinosaur.

Which talent would you most like to have? I want to learn to oil paint.

Cathy Koon on a fly fishing float trip.

If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

I live there. But if I couldn’t live in the shadow of the Tetons, I would choose someplace in Montana where I could have a small spread with cows and horses, and run an antiques and collectibles shop on the side.

What book are you reading?

I just finished “The Lost Symbol,” the Dan Brown book. I just started one of Tony Hillerman’s books and one about a guy who is retracing the route of the Pony Express. It is not unusual for me to have one book in the living room, another in the bathroom and one by my bed so I have reading material handy without carting it around with me. I also just starting getting True West magazine that I carry in my purse.

What would people be surprised to learn about you?

My goal in life is to one day be a recluse. I want to retire to a cabin with a view of the Tetons, no phone, no computer, a large workshop and tools of every description for making furniture, scrapbooking, creating artworks and quilting. Doesn’t exactly match my answer about where I would like to live, but it is an extension of that lifestyle.

Why is your affiliate and NFPW important to you?

My membership in MNI and NFPW has been an important part of my life for almost 35 years. I have made lifelong friends, kept abreast of trends in journalism and communications, taken advantage of professional development opportunities, and been able to travel throughout the country. Many of the firsts in my life are a direct result of being a member.

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

I have a Facebook page, plus I administer our Henry’s Fork Foundation page on Facebook, and will soon be the administrator of our new website, scheduled to go live any day now. Someday I may start posting to my blog again.

Fleischman enjoys racing, running and promoting Idaho

She drives a blue Porsche she lovingly calls the blue Max, trained for and ran two half marathons after she turned 60 and shares her love of Idaho through a monthly magazine she loves. Meet a dear friend who is a unique, unbelieveable NFPW member.

Name: Kitty Delorey Fleischman

City and State: Boise, Idaho

Affiliate and any leadership positions: Past president, mostly membership and as part of the Media Network Idaho “Fearsome Foursome” team organizing the 2008 and 2013 NFPW national conferences.

In a couple of paragraphs, tell us a little about you.

Kitty will tell you she is “crabby and old, don’t have enough time for anything, and not enough money.” But in real life she is a determined, hard working person who is always looking out for others and wanting to help the little guy. Health issues have not prevented her from setting goals and reaching them. She worked hard to reach her goal of finishing two  half-marathons at Robie Creek in Idaho after she reached the age of 60.

Any career advice you would give? Go into medicine.

Which talent would you most like to have? Tact.

If you could live anywhere, where would it be?  Idaho. She loves Idaho so much the magazine she pours her heart into is IDAHO Magazine. The magazine gives you a feel for the people in Idaho Kitty has grown to love.

What book(s) are you reading?

Just finished “Unbroken” by Laura Hillanbrand who wrote “Seabiscuit” (*****), and a book on George Washington’s Spy Ring from the American Revolutionary War (****), and am starting “I am Malala,” about Malala Yousafzai, the 16-year old the Taliban tried to kill for advocating women’s education in Pakistan. So far I’d give it (***), but maybe it will get better. I think it’s target at a teen market.

What would people be surprised to learn about you?

I raced cars from 1992 to 2006 when health problems forced me to give it up. I’ve trophied at a number of Porsche Club of America driving events, and tech quizzes, and I hold about a half-dozen records at three different hillclimbs.

Gerry (her husband and best friend) and I have been together since 1981. I’ve been a business owner since 1984.

I was in a plane crash on St. Lawrence Island in 1979. In Nome I was co-owner of a dog team with 20 dogs, eight pups, two sleds, and all the rigging to make them work. I’ve covered a reindeer story out on the Chucki Sea in winter, covered winter training exercises for the Alaska National Guard’s First Scout Battalion, an all-Eskimo unit. I’ve cross-country skied on the tundra and out on the Bering Sea, covered the Iditarod starts and finishes four years. In 1999 I taught a class in Riga, Latvia, on marketing in a capitalistic system.

IDAHO magazine is the second publication I’ve started and run. In 1984 I co-founded the Idaho Business Review, which is still chugging along. I once crawled along in a space five-feet wide between two houses in Nome, one of them fully engulfed in flames, to save my eight little Husky/Malamute pups. The house that was on fire had a barrel of oil that was about to have its foundation give way, and I couldn’t let my babies burn. It was pretty scary though.

Why is your affiliate and NFPW important to you? I wanted to join the Idaho Press Women in the 1980s, but was told by Marlene Fritz that I could not join because I was a publisher and not a journalist. I was thrilled to find more recently that I could join. I appreciate the camaraderie more than anything, and am thrilled to be part of the “Fearsome Foursome.” The women I’ve met in Media Network Idaho and NFPW are a source of inspiration and encouragement to me. I appreciate their insights, wisdom, experience, humor, and dedication. My only regrets are from the years I missed!

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

Our website is http://idahomagazine, and our Facebook page, which I took over managing and LOVE to do is: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Idaho-Magazine/178896083093