Meet a Member: Glennis McNeal

One of the people I look forward to seeing at an NFPW conference is Glennis McNeal. She splits her time between Oregon and California and is one of the members who always makes the conference more fun. She is always looking for new adventures and is always willing to step up and learn something new. One example is when she worked a shift for the Food Network’s “Restaurant Impossible,” program when they revamped the Mill Creek Cattle Company restaurant in Redlands, CA. She did whatever was needed to make that particular program a success. She finds a way to succeed with everything she attempts. Meet my friend, Glennis McNeal.

Name : Glennis McNeal

City and State: Beaverton, Oregon and Redlands, CA

Glennis McNeal

Affiliate and any leadership positions:

I’m a member of Oregon Press Women and Arizona Professional Writers. I served as OPW president twice, POPPS president once, currently POPPS newsletter editor. Coordinated a Lewis and Clark pre-conference tour before the Seattle NFPW conference. Coordinated the pre- and post-conference tours for the Arizona NFPW conference. Still send out meeting notices and news for Oregon Press Women.

Years a member of NFPW: 41 this year

Tell us a little about you.

I’m a self-taught freelance journalist, public relations practitioner, medical writer and magazine editor. My professional communications training came through Oregon Press Women and NFPW. Workshops and conversations with fellow members provided answers to questions as well as inspiration. Contact with fellow members fired me with desire to improve, and gave me courage to take on new ventures. The examples of their published work provided new ideas. The examples of their lives were potent guideposts, and still are.

I was the Public Information Director for a national lay health nonprofit, The National Psoriasis Foundation. I worked there for a decade and after retiring, earned a college degree in Arts and Humanities from Linfield College in Oregon.

Now I’m having a tough time saying these two dirty words: “I’m retired.”

Glennis McNeal, left and Sandi Latimer at an NFPW conference.

Any career advice you would give?

Keep up with technology.

Don’t be afraid to tackle something new, even if you seem unqualified. I once confided in my late husband, George, “I don’t know how to do all the things this new project requires.” He responded, “Well, nobody knows everything about anything. Find someone who can help you with the unfamiliar stuff.” It worked for me!

That being said, I wish I had pursued my college education much sooner. I’d have done a better job if I’d known what I was doing.

A pleasant attitude and a sense of humor goes a long way, especially if you genuinely like people.

Which talent would you most like to have?

Perfect pitch. And a singing voice worth the gift of any pitch at all.

If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

Anywhere with interesting things to see and do. I’m an Oregon resident and also a snowbird– 21 years in Arizona, two years so far in California. Loved Arizona Press Women. In Redlands, California, I’ve joined a book club that meets in a brewery.

What book are you reading?

Missoula–Rape and the Justice System in a College Town, by Jon Krakauer. I’m from Montana and can’t wait to hear what my University of Montana friends think of the book. I’m prepared to wipe spittle from my eyeglasses.

What would people be surprised to learn about you?

I played the baritone sax in a Wyoming high school marching band and in the school’s dance band. I was a nightclub hostess and hat check girl in South Dakota. For years I edited a quarterly publication for a Weight Watchers franchise. When I told people at NFPW conferences, “I edit ‘The Loser’,” their sympathetic response was usually, “Maybe you’ll have better luck in next year’s communications contest.” The publication’s name was, in fact, “The Loser” and it actually won a few prizes.

Why is your affiliate and NFPW important to you?

Each has provided lifelong friends and opportunities not available to me by other means. Members were resources for me when I was freelancing and later, when I was seeking space nationally for health news.

Also, I love their profane commentary during pre- and post-conference tours and when meeting them in hotel bars. Conference trips exposed me to wonderful areas of the country in the company of people who knew–and shared–the real story behind the tourism hype.

Way to follow you on.

I’m on Facebook. You’ll see frequent pictures of my 8 grandchilden!

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Meet a Member: Katherine Keniston

For the past nearly four years, Katherine Keniston has kept track of NFPW members who pass away during the year. She writes tributes to them in the NFPW Agenda, e-letter and for the Memorial Service during the NFPW conference. She does an outstanding job recognizing member accomplishments. She is a dedicated NFPW member who is always willing to lend a hand to help others. I have enjoyed spending time with her at NFPW board meetings and conferences, as well as several pre and post conference trips. She is an accomplished journalist and a unique and unbelievable NFPW member. Meet my friend Katherine Keniston.

Name: Katherine Keniston

Katherine Keniston

City and state: Beaverton, Ore.

Affiliate and any leadership positions:

I’m active in Oregon Press Women and coordinate our monthly breakfast gatherings. In past years, I served as president, vice president and secretary, and chaired our communications contest and 50^th anniversary celebration.

On the national level, I’m serving my second term as historian. I’ve also been NFPW public relations director.

Years a member of NFPW: 38

Tell us a little about you.

A foretaste of my communications career came when I was 8 years old. As a fan of Elsie the Cow, I wrote a poem praising Borden’s milk and left it on the porch for our friendly milkman. I was surprised and thrilled when my writing ended up published in a Borden’s newsletter! And, the company sent me a letter offering me an advertising job when I grew up (no, I never followed through).

After earning a B.A. in journalism and humanities from Oregon State University in my native Corvallis, I enjoyed some stimulating jobs as women’s editor at the Corvallis Gazette-Times and editor of a community section at the Fort Collins Coloradoan. I loved doing it all – interviews, writing, editing, photography, layout. My career then turned to health care communications, first at Oregon Health & Science University and then at Providence Health & Services in Oregon, a wonderful employer. During my 32-plus years with Providence, I did everything from producing the monthly medical staff newsletter to working as a senior copy editor to writing human interest stories for the Community Benefits Report.

A wave of layoffs eliminated my marketing and communications position two years ago, but I’m taking my time looking for another job because all this free time is quite a treat! I love to travel and have visited all 50 states. Among my other interests are reading, music, movies, good conversation and the great outdoors. I’m an avid fan of Oregon State University sports (Go Beavers!). With a longtime interest in people from other cultures, I volunteer as an English as a Second Language substitute teacher.

Katherine posing as a downhill skier during a pre-conference tour in Utah.

Any career advice you would give?

Always stay interested and curious. Learn from colleagues whose work you admire. Help and encourage coworkers who are finding their way. Be flexible. Get involved in a professional organization, of course!

Which talent would you most like to have?

To sing with a perfect French accent while playing the piano. That is, I’d love not only to play that instrument, but also to slip easily into various accents and dialects, a la Meryl Streep.

If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

Right here in Oregon. This is such a beautiful and varied state, and it’s important to me to be near my family. However, I’m sure I could enjoy living for a while in any number of places, whether New England or England.

What book are you reading?

A Path Appears, by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. It’s about ways we can make a positive difference in the world.

What would people be surprised to learn about you?

As an admirer of the “Greatest Generation,” I traveled to Pearl Harbor for the 50^th anniversary of the Japanese attack and went to Normandy for the 50-year commemoration of D-Day. Being there for these historic occasions was poignant, inspiring and unforgettable. In Normandy, I was touched when a British infantry veteran gave me one of his badges; I wear it on Veterans Day in his honor.

Katherine Keniston, front row center, on a visit to Yellowstone National Park following a spring board meeting in Idaho Falls. Trip participants are from left, Cathy Koon, Barb Micek, Teri Ehresman, Katherine Keniston, Lori Potter and Cynthia Price.

Why is your affiliate and NFPW important to you?

I think back to something I wrote for our affiliate newsletter shortly after trying out snorkeling in Hawaii. An excerpt: “There, just beneath the water’s surface, an exhilarating new world had opened up to me. In a way, it is the same with Oregon Press Women. We test the waters and we discover a surprising new world opening to us. Think of the professional growth and the warm personal relationships you have found…The times you have given and received encouragement, support, a good argument, a good laugh. The ways you’ve felt rewarded…The intriguing out-of-way places you’ve traveled to broaden your knowledge. Think of the wonderful people…and so much more!”

For me, part of that “so much more” has been attending the national conferences, going on the terrific tours to places as wide-reaching as Cape Canaveral and Nome, and making friends from across our country. NFPW has enriched my life immeasurably.

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

Call me slow on the uptake when it comes to social media.

Meet a Member: Lana Christian

Their are many types of professional communicators. Some write for newspapers and magazines. Others write for blogs and for technical publications. NFPW member Lana Christian shares her writing talent writing about healthcare and life sciences. Many times she is writing for peer-reviewed publications. Just like other communicators, her talent is in telling a story so her audience can understand. Meet another one of the unique and unbelievable NFPW members, Lana Christian.

Name: Lana Christian

City and State:  I currently live in Fairview, Oregon, and previously lived in Indiana.

Affiliate and any leadership positions:

Indiana and Oregon affiliates; no leadership positions

Years a member of NFPW: 7+

Lana Christian

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

I write for the healthcare and life science industries, dba CreateWrite® Inc. Much of my writing is full-length articles for peer-reviewed medical journals; but I also write newsletter articles for hospitals, patient education materials, continuing medical education programs, training materials for pharmaceutical reps, and DVD scripts (e.g., “here’s how a stent works”).  Seasonally, I also write grant applications for researchers and medical textbook chapters.

Much of that may sound far afield from what many NFPW participants write each day, but the common ground is that a medical writer still has to be good at “telling the story.” Science standing on its own does not garner grant funding or a journal editor’s green-lighting a manuscript. So the work I do is a combination of science and art. Although scouring medical databases to find appropriate references and interviewing MDs or PhDs are usually part of my work, I always need to write compelling content that tells readers why they should take notice of a researcher’s findings or a doctor’s cutting-edge procedure.

Any career advice you would give?

(1) Never stop honing your craft.

(2) If you admire a writer or an article, ask yourself why. Deconstruct it and learn from it.

(3) Be conscious of how you write what you write, even if it’s “just” a personal blog. Strive to make it something you can be just as proud of as a headliner article in the publication of your dreams.

(4) Learn how to be an ace at asking the right questions during interviews. If you excel at that, then the article will almost write itself.

(5) Everyone can be a better writer next year than they are this year if they keep actively practicing the art of writing.

Which talent would you most like to have?

True entrepreneurship. I have great ideas for several companies but am not sure how to put feet to them.

If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

In the mountains, away from big cities. I do live in a mountainous area right now, and I’m in a fairly small town; but I’d like to move out of town if I could afford to buy acreage in the country.

What book are you reading?

I just finished Hattie Kauffman’s Falling Into Place: A Memoir of Overcoming.

What would people be surprised to learn about you?

I wrote my first book when I was 11. (It chronicled my first summer at church camp.) In more recent years, I’ve coauthored or authored numerous healthcare books, as well as a business book, Proofread Like a Pro. One of my biggest accomplishments when I was still working in the hospital environment was to create a career development program for employees who wanted to move up within the system. Called Career Quest®, it became an integral part of that organization’s culture. After I left the hospital setting, Career Quest® was renamed, repackaged and marketed externally. When I’m not writing, I devote time to my passions of hiking, cooking, working with the homeless and international missions.

Why is your affiliate and NFPW important to you?

NFPW helps me stay connected to a side of journalism that keeps my skills honed for newspaper articles and hospital newsletters. That type of journalism requires a bit different mindset and some degree of different writing skills than the research-heavy writing I often do. I get great satisfaction from both kinds of writing.

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

Website (includes a Contact page) http://createwriteinc.com. I also have LinkedIn profile for my business.