In the 30 years that I have been a professional writer I have written for newspapers, wrote direct mail, free-lanced, and worked in a corporate setting. I have won several awards in the Minnesota Newspaper Association's Better Newspaper Contest for writing & photography as well as multiple awards from the Minnesota Education Association's School Bell Awards for excellence in reporting on education. In my years as a reporter I did ride-alongs with law enforcement, went on drug busts, and practiced with a sniper team. As a Managing editor I mentored young reporters in improving their writing and photography skills. Our biggest project was publishing a 50th Anniversary of WWII edition in which we interviewed hundreds of veterans. I also wrote exclusive stories with executives of Malt-O-Meal, large feedlot farmers, and leaders at Carleton and St Olaf.I wrote catalog copy, direct mail, space ads. I wrote on programs approved by Ken Griffey Jr, Cal Ripken Jr., Tiger Woods and Dan Marino. I wrote copy for exclusive programs for the British Royal Mint, The South African Mint, The Perth Mint and The Canadian Mint. Among the exclusive programs were the 2000 Sydney Olympics and a Proof set with designs personally selected by Mikhail Gorbachev.At Gemini I helped implement PR programs and helped initiate email programs & social media platforms that exist today. I have written corporate brochures, design guides, technical guides, and spearheaded the company's annual report. I also directed Gemini's sample program which distributes $1 million in free samples each year to its customers. As Mailroom Manager I oversaw the growth of the company's mailing list from 85,000 to over 100,000 from 2011 to 2016.
Listed skills include Advertising, Direct Mail, Customer Service, Marketing, and 27 others.