When people do good things, we want to tell the story. Writing about good works requires being close to your subject, hearing them talk, seeing them live their lives, then getting out of their way, and letting them speak in their own voices.
Raising
Roofs, Raising Support
Quaker Lake Building Campaign Brochure
The NC Friends Yearly Meeting wanted to raise funds to improve their facility
at Quaker Lake. To develop a brochure for this project, I interviewed several
adult “graduates” of the Quaker Lake experience. For them, the
camp served as the physical heart of a social and spiritual community that
they wanted to bequeath to their young people. But to attract the youth,
they needed to invest in a new building campaign.
The history I was told, the affirming statements of the people I interviewed, the photographs I took, and artist Joyce Parham’s graphic design illustrate the strong reasons to support the campaign. Read the brochure (PDF).
Hard
Work, Strong Family, Exceptional Teacher
A Short Profile Illustrates a Deep Commitment
A
personal profile is more than personal. It can reflect our deepest values,
such as those steeped in a organization’s mission, an initiative for
change, or a tradition that calls for renewal.
From first-hand experience, Dr. Archibong knows about the strength of family
and its counterbalance to unstable political forces. Family clearly contributes
to his power as a respected and convincing teacher of political history.
Writing up the interview, I was careful not to change his style of speech. He provided a light and humorous ending to the piece when he says to students “You can call me at home, but after 11 p.m. I don’t speak English.” Read the article (PDF).
Career
in the Arts
Media Exposure for the American String Teachers Association
For a couple of years I worked as a long-distance contract “publicity coordinator” for the American String Teachers Association. One of their objectives was to raise awareness of string teaching as a profession appealing to young people. When I came across the Chicago Tribune’s career columnist Carol Kleiman, it seemed like a perfect match. I called Ms. Kleiman to pitch the idea and then faxed her information about the Association and named a school strings program director in the Chicago area willing to be interviewed.
On Sunday, Nov. 2, 1997 under Jobs, Inside Section 6 was the story “String
teachers bring kids and music together.” (I will email it to anyone
who asks.)
Armed with this major media exposure, I then called the newspapers in towns
around the country whose schools offered strings programs to get much-needed
local exposure.
Dr. Robert Gillespie, Professor of Music Education at Ohio State University, said: “Thank you for getting the Chicago Tribune article to come about. It is a wonderful piece that I hope will help us in the profession. Today, our Columbus paper, the Columbus Dispatch, called and interviewed me as a result of the Tribune article and is sending a photographer over to my middle school youth orchestra on Tuesday to interview my university string ed students, the middle school students, and take photographs for a photo spread they are going to do about string teacher training at Ohio State. I can’t believe it. This is one of the best things that has happened for us in the 14 years I have been here. Thanks for your expertise and work to get all of this to happen. I am overwhelmed . . . .”
Other
Good Work Projects by Carol
Project: Interviewed and profiled education leaders in “Only Giants Need Apply,” School Business Affairs ,1996
Peg D. Kirkpatrick, Publisher and Editor, Association of School Business Officials International, Reston, VA said: “You did a great job pulling it all together. The article came out very well and all parties are pleased. Thanks for doing such a great job.”
Project: Interviewed author Penelope Niven and wrote profile of her and review of her book for The Magazine, Greensboro College’s alumni magazine
Penelope Niven, Author, former Writer-in-Residence at Greensboro College and Assistant to the President, said: “Carol Rawleigh is a fine writer and a skilled editor and researcher. More than 150 journalists in the United States and elsewhere wrote about my book, Carl Sandburg: A Biography, and Carol’s article was one of the very best, most accurate profiles. That is not surprising, for she is one of the hardest working, most conscientious writers I know.”
See a list of projects and clients on the CLIENTS page.
Learn more about my writing services on the SERVICES page.