Speakers
Keynote Speakers
Christian comedian, Michael Jr.
Imagine a line from Bugs Bunny to Bill Cosby and you’ll have an idea of Michael’s influences. Watch him onstage and you’ll see a man at ease…with himself, his audience, and his message. Listen to his voice and you’ll detect a comfortable, conversational style that hides a sly sense of mischief. Hear his words and you’ll laugh at the universal themes that connect us all.
Michael’s entry into comedy was almost preordained. Years ago in a crowded Grand Rapids, Michigan movie theater, the projector malfunctioned. The film snapped, the house lights came on, and acting on a dare, young Michael jumped in front of the restless crowd and took center stage. When the theater manager tried to usher him out, the audience demanded he stay…and Michael Jr. discovered his gift.
Cindy Rushton
“Building a Passionate, Forever, Happier and Happier-Ever-After Marriage”
Cindy Rushton is the wife of her very best friend, Harold Rushton, and the mother of Matthew (22) and Elisabeth (19) who have both graduated after always being homeschooled. Cindy is also counting down to the birth of her first grand-child in Fall of 2010.
Cindy lives in the beautiful mountains of North Alabama in her dream cedar cabin. Cindy is the author of over 100 books, Bible studies and homeschool resources. She edits and publishes two magazines, Time for Tea and Homeschooling The Easy Way. If that is not enough, she also manages two of her own blogs: Cindy’s Desk(Top!)! and A Writers Nook and she produces two online weekly radio shows, Mom-to-Mom Radio Show and Writer’s Radio Show.
Cindy has become a beloved and favored speaker for homeschool conventions and retreats across our country. As you pour yourself a cup of tea and join us for Cindy’s powerful workshop, you will find a dear, dear friend to give you a great big hug, loving smile, and take you by the hand through your journey. Get ready…you are definitely in for a treat!
Want to see more of her writing or listen in to her podcasts? See her websites: www.CindyRushton.com, www.Talk-a-Latte.com, www.MomtoMomRadioShow.com, or her blog: www.CindysDesktop.com
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Your Hosts
JoJo Tabares is the founder of the Say What You Mean Convention. JoJo holds a degree in Speech Communication, but it is her humorous approach to communication skills which has made her a highly sought-after Christian speaker and writer. Her articles appear in homeschool publications, such as Homeschool Enrichment Magazine and The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, which also endorses her Say What You Mean curricula, including Say What You Mean Defending the Faith. You can also find JoJo on web sites such as Crosswalk.com and Dr.Laura.com and hosting her weekly podcast, Communication Comedy Network. For more information on communication FUNdamentals and Christian-based communication skills for the whole family, please visit www.ArtofEloquence.com
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Author of WriteShop: An Incremental Writing Program - www.writeshop.com
Kim Kautzer, veteran homeschooler and author, loves to help parents feel more confident about teaching writing. She believes that when you combine blank paper, reluctant child, and insecure parent, you create a recipe that’s doomed to fail. With a heart to inspire and equip apprehensive parents, Kim encourages homeschoolers that teaching writing is much more objective than they think, and that with the right tools at their fingertips they can lead and motivate their struggling writers. WriteShop, her unique and successful writing program, has been honored as one of Cathy Duffy’s 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum.
Kim and her husband Jim began homeschooling in 1988. All three of their children are homeschool graduates. The Kautzers enjoy a passel of grandkids and their sometimes-empty nest in Southern California.
Kim blogs about writing at In Our Write Minds: www.writeshop.com/blog
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Joan Rudder-Ward, MBA, CPP, is an educator, speaker, social marketer, award-winning visual artist, and resource specialist. She is a sought after speaker on issues relating to the self-esteem of adolescent girls. She is the CEO of Wise Woman Enterprises and the founder of The Positive Image Network, a non-profit organization with the mission to provide resources and information that will support parents, caregivers, teachers, mentors, etc., in nurturing the personal development of girls and young women.
Joan began her visual communications company, the Image Maker in 1985, and she is also the owner of Girl Nurture, a place where esteem and relationship building products for girls and women can be found.
Joan has received recognition and several rewards for a photography program she developed for girls that helps them build self-esteem, self-confidence, and leadership skills.
A professional photographer, she also has her own line of inspirational photographic art.
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