|
Adventure & Adrenaline: Lauren Tjaden of Groveland is an avid equestrian, having competed extensively in three-day eventing, dressage and show hunters, besides riding for pleasure. She is co-author of the book Bombproof Your Horse, published in 2004 by Trafalgar Square Publishing, and writes for Hang Gliding Magazine. She is an active hang glider pilot, and was fortunate enough to represent the United States as a team member at the Women's World Championships held in Groveland in 2006, where she won a silver medal. She has had lessons flying sail planes and ultra light airplanes and enjoys kite boarding and wind surfing. She also enjoys biking, roller-blading, water skiing and adventures like swimming with manatees. Adventure and Adrenaline is not just the so-called "extreme" sports, but will also have her at tracks like Daytona and Sebring and theme parks like Universal and Disney. When she lived in Colorado, she taught skiing at Vail and also worked for Keystone ski resort. In short, if it smells like fun, she's in!
Arts & Culture: Nationally published Jen Karetnik has written for most leading Florida publications, including The Miami Herald and Ocean Drive. The author of Random House's Around Miami With Kids, she's also written for The New York Times and was a food critic for Miami New Times for 12 years. She lives in Miami Shores on a historic mango plantation with her husband; she has an MFA in poetry from U.C. Irvine and an MFA in fiction from University of Miami. While she will appeal to our cultured audience and can dress the part, she does not approach high culture from top down and at times, reminds one of Seinfeld's Elaine. She knows the cultural scene both as observer and performer (she also plays in an orchestra). Whether in pearls or tank top, she has an "Oh my gosh what have you gotten me into" approach that will take readers anywhere. Her sleuthing for Florida culture knows no bounds, and she often drags her neurologist-husband and two kids to odd dives and attractions around the state.
Beaches: While we looked for many different experts for this category, David McRee was our hands down choice. He approaches Florida beaches as a labor of love, and nothing else. A three-generation Floridian, beginning in 1996 he spent nine years photographing and writing about every beach from Dunedin to Marco Island. A native of Bradenton, he has visited almost every beach in Florida for his website, BeachHunter.net, and his book Florida Beaches: Finding Your Paradise on the Lower Gulf Coast. While by day he is a soft-spoken C.P.A. who specializes in non-profit clients, he also finds time to teach salsa and swing dancing with his fiancé in St. Petersburg. His persona for the site? McRee is the facts-heavy amateur whose knowledge wins you over, and loves to spill all his secrets. If Dr. Leatherman is Dr. Beach, perhaps we can call him Mister Florida Beach. This devotee relishes taking his beach interest to the next level as an official Expert, and sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm on the largest stage possible.
Boating & Fishing: Douglas R. Sease was a 25-year-veteran staffer for The Wall Street Journal who began his career as a reporter in Jacksonville. He retired to Vero Beach to sail and fish. He is author of Winning With the Market, published by The Wall Street Journal. He knows the state, and he also spent time as editor of the Jacksonville Business Journal. He continues to write for The Wall Street Journal, and appears occasionally on CNBC. Sease came back to Florida to have days where he might fish two hours at dawn and two more at dusk. While he keeps a detailed log of perfect Treasure Coast fishing spots, he is not so much of a know-it-all that he is afraid to hire a good guide. And with his reporting skills, he has an eye for not only the best guides, but the most colorful and camera-friendly. He not only has a power boat, but is an avid sailor. In addition to his fishing interests, his business reporting experience will serve us well in highlighting the fun side of Florida's $18 billion marine and boating economy.
Insider: Two years after graduating from Hillsborough Community College, Mitzi Gordon took her first publishing job helping to put together the website of the ultra-trendy New York magazine Paper. With a degree from NYU in print journalism, she came home and created arts and culture sections for the Tampa Tribune. Her writing is straightforward and un-artsy, and she can easily write about mass culture subjects like ten-pin bowling at Pinarama. She's an art photographer, but not too edgy, and can speak to that Depression-era Florida traveler on a fixed income. Cool but not too cool, this Tampa native can look at cheap travel through the lens of a sophisticate. Her thesis: traveling on a budget doesn't mean giving up great style.
Nightlife & Shopping: Kristine Hughes is a former New Jersey gal turned Floridian. A Florida resident for 20 years, she's now living in Cape Coral and will soon be dedicating herself to freelance journalism. During her time here, she's hit shopping and nightlife hotspots all over the state, from St. Augustine to Sarasota to Miami, and turned her experiences into pieces for Bonita Living and Home and Design magazines. She loves "soul-soothing" and hip spas such as The Standard, which she describes as a "modern and hedonistic spa worthy of a visit from [hotelier Andre] Balazs's girlfriend, Uma Thurman, or any of her celebrity friends."
Golf: Frank Fenton is a former regional golf pro who has a golf design and development business in Sarasota. He has authored They Called It Golf, where he shared stories of working with golf greats. He is a former golf club pro who has worked for Ben Hogan, where he designed golf clubs (his Ben Hogan BH88 model irons were used by Tom Kite to win the 1992 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach). He understands the public part of the Open Florida project; while doing marketing at Spalding Sports Worldwide and Ben Hogan, he did training videos and traveled extensively for both companies to promote their products. He attends all the major golf events in Florida and the region, and knows courses cold. He will take a measured approach to his online persona. While Fenton is a golfer's golfer, he is not overpowering. He has the sort of enthusiasm for the sport that makes a veteran comfortable around him, and a newbie un-intimidated.
Authentic: We thought we needed one intrepid, "real Florida" kind of person to search out native plants, pristine towns, picture perfect restaurants and offbeat history and culture. Lucy Beebe Tobias, an Ocala writer, is our pick, as she has a firm idea about what that "real Florida" is all about. Her upcoming 50 Great Walks in Florida, to be published by University of Press of Florida in January 2008, took her yet again to all parts of the state. She's the "sensible shoes" kind of person that the "Authentic" tag speaks to. She grew up as a Navy brat in Key West and Jacksonville; her first job was as a newspaper photographer. This Bryn Mawr graduate fits the Authentic position to a "T" (or an explorer's jacket, seen in picture). We did not have to ask her to wear the Indiana Jones jacket, but we will sometimes when she files features for us on Indian mounds and native bird migrations.
Outdoors: Doug Kelly, a freelance writer and photographer from Tampa, served as the executive director of the Florida Outdoor Writers Association as well as Bonefish & Tarpon Unlimited. In addition, Doug has served on advisory panels for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, the Southeast Coral Reef Initiative, and the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council. Doug's contributions to covering Florida's great outdoors help him bring the best of the Sunshine State to nature-going visitors.
Family: Jennifer Michaels is a long time television producer with not only the Travel Channel, but a long resume of TV news, reality and talk shows in Chicago and Los Angeles. The Emmy award winner (and Tampa native) has two boys, eight and five. She's a serious journalist who's worked for People magazine and PBS's World Business Review reporter, but has also produced for Jenny Jones and Inside Edition. She not only travels as a hobby, she put together Discovery Channel's Travel Channel radio network, and has the contacts to prove it. This Sophie Newcomb graduate won't just be an asset for us on the reporting and content side; she is a seasoned television production ambassador who would delight in using her road-ready Rolodex of "Go to" folks to help get the VISIT FLORIDA road show rolling.
|
