Here's some of the things I have done and organizations and businesses with whom I have worked to network with my community.

*Participated as the PR rep, book handler and/or salesperson for major Houston events like the Houston International Festival, The Alley Theatre Gala, Jewish Community Center Book Fair, the Houston Area Booksellers Association, Poetry Fest, and more

*Coordinated off-site events with other businesses, charities, churches, schools, writer groups, & nightclubs for both publicity and income purposes

*Provided off-site book fairs to schools, colleges, conferences, charities, non-profits, & more

*Did public speaking as representative of the Brentano’s/Borders brand

*Provided charitable services for non-profit organizations, including publicity, networking services, funds & fund-raising, ideas

*Borders and Brentano’s representative at major book conventions, such as Romance Writers of America, Mystery Writers of America, and Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators

*Received personal commendation from the Association for Hearing & Speech Disorders and the Literacy Volunteers of America for my work with those organizations.

*Awarded honorary membership in the Society for Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators for my work supporting that organization

*Honorary member of the American Indian Chamber of Commerce in Houston

*Booth marketing at events like the Houston International festival, the Houston Dog Show, Sea Space Expo, and the NBA All Stars

*Public Service Announcements for radio: writing & creating them (free advertising!)

*Created two websites to teach people how they can make a difference in their community.  They are http://www.activatehouston.com  and http://www.activateoklahoma.com.  These websites encourage people to volunteer or visit websites or do other fun things, quickly and easily, and even if they have little resources, such as time or money, to spend.

*Volunteered for World Neighbors of Oklahoma City as well as KOSU Radio (National Public Radio) in Stillwater, Oklahoma. 

*Offers free writers and free communications meetups in Oklahoma City every Saturday, since February of 2008.

*Volunteered for these organizations: KPFT radio, KTSU radio, Houston Press, Access Houston Cable Corporation, Alley Theatre, Texas Key program (helping juvenile boys with criminal records), mentoring of teenagers through a group called The Magic Hour, teaching art, history, math, English, journalism, and activism to students at The Way To The Lake School in Katy, Texas, a school for kids who dropped out or were kicked out of school—to help them gets their GEDs.

*Keynote Speaker and Board member for The Way To the Lake School, Katy, TX  

*Former sponsor for Cezanne’s Jazz Open House and Alley Theatre, Houston, TX

*Former Chairperson for Access TV Awards Banquet

*Former board member for Houston’s contemporary art magazine ArtLies and for Mr. K’s Homeless Pet Shelter

*Publicity Chairperson for the 1994 International Congress of Enlightenment Publicity Chairperson for the 1997 African Cultural Exchange’s Africa Days

*Past sponsor and fund-raiser for Houston Jazz Mentors Fundraiser and event planner for certain political events 2000/2004

*Received Certificate of Merit for helping fundraise for the Linda Lorelle Breast Cancer Research event

*Fundraising and pitching for public radio—fearless on the air!