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Stephanie Baker-Thomas   |   Tim Batzer   |   Carol Bartl   |   Sally Beacham   |   Cindi Bisson
Karen Bonaker   |   Victoria Burns   |   Hilary Cheyne   |   Kathy Clark   |   Mary Cox-Pace
Lori Davis   |   Connie Densmore   |   Fredia Dillard   |   Terry Dillard   |   Aimee Evans
Niveen Fahmy   |   Bean Fairbanks   |   Roberta Falkner   |   Harold Fisher   |   Sara Froehlich
Brian Goddard   |   Shelly Goldhar   |   Sandy Hale   |   Michele Hamer   |   Pat Hinds
Deborah Dee Hoffmann   |   Cathy Jourdan   |   Rooholla Keshtkar   |   Steven Kidd   |   John Kramar
Ron Lacey   |   Coleen Lawrence   |   Phyllis List   |   Bob Long   |   Vikki Long
Peter Mayer   |   Britt McCary   |   Robert McConkey   |   Al Mierau   |   Elaina Moore-Kelly
Viki Nygaard   |   Kevin O'Connor   |   Vera Olson   |   Val Perkins   |   Becky Peters
Kimberly Rackett   |   Stephanie Reid-Taylor   |   Leo Reinfeld   |   Mary Rich   |   Jeramie Risinger
Peggi Rodgers   |   Hillary Sadur   |   Donna Sellinger   |   Sonja Shea   |   Suz Shook   |   Dia Spriggs
Frank Stepanski   |   Peggy Taranenko   |   Frieda Vanover   |   Jennifer Wagner   |   Peggy Walters

Our highly qualified and trained instructors at LVS have the desire to share their expertise with you. They guide you step by step to make your experience at LVS not only rewarding, but fun!


Stephanie Baker-Thomas:
PhotoImpact Self-Study Courses

Stephanie Baker-Thomas, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist whose hobby of making graphics with PhotoImpact blossomed into a career in publishing. Four years ago she began writing weekly tutorials on her site, Stephanie's PhotoImpact Tutorials, which now houses 200+ tutorials, many of which have been licensed by Ulead's web site. She also runs the popular PhotoImpact Bulletin Board. Stephanie is the author of three books on PhotoImpact.

Stephanie's website: www.eastofthesun.com

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Timothy (Tim) Batzer PMP:
Project Management

Tim is a certified Project Manager Professional, from Project Management Institute and holds a Masters Degree from University of Phoenix in Computer Science. He has been in project management for over fifteen years and has managed several large and small projects, from local to global applications. He works for a major automotive company and is managing projects and other project managers.

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Sally Beacham:
PSP
Xara X
Memory Pages

Sally Beacham Sally is the author of two books (along with fellow LVS instructors Ron Lacey and Lori Davis.) Paint Shop Pro 8 Zero to Hero from Apress/Friends of Ed, as well as Digital Scrapbooking, from Course Technology, are both available at national and local booksellers, as well as Amazon.com.

Sally has been writing about and teaching Paint Shop Pro for many years, and has been a private tester for Corel, Jasc, Auto FX, Alienskin, Microsoft and many other software companies. She's been a featured presenter at CorelWorld. Her work has been featured in Simple Scrapbooks magazine, Making Memories Magazine and several scrapbook design books. Sally's web site, www.dizteq.com is devoted to Paint Shop Pro and Photoshop-compatible plugin filters, and she has a special section, Dizteq Scrapstuff, with information and resources for digital scrapbookers.

Sally is currently teaching Paint Shop Pro and digital scrapbooking locally as well as online. Sally has a husband, John, son Wade, daughters Emilie and Brittanie, a soon-to-be third generation kidlet on the way (tentatively named Theodore Beckett), and kitty children Einstein,Moussie and Dame Edna Hilary. She sleeps every February 29, and occasional Ground Hog Days.

Sally's web site: www.dizteq.com

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Cindi Bisson:
Memory Pages

Cindi Bisson teaches scrapbooking and rubber stamping classes at various locations throughout Southern Maine, and is a representative of The Angel Company, a rubber stamp supply company. She has been published in stamping/scrapbooking magazines and in The Angel Company catalog. She is also currently a designer for Our Vintage Shoppe. A self proclaimed "supplyaholic", she enjoys experimenting with mixed media and new techniques.

Cindi lives in Maine with her husband Darrin and their sons, Joseph, age 4 1/2, Thomas, age 2½, and two furry feline children. Her website, www.fatcatcreations.info, features her bi-monthly newsletter, a link to multiple stamp art samples, and more.

Cindi's web site: www.fatcatcreations.info

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Karen Bonaker:
Painter

Karen BonakerFrom the time Karen was very young she enjoyed painting on whatever she could get her hands on and that included the walls of her house! Karen's mother was wonderful as she herself was an artist and supplied a wall in Karen's room where she was free to express herself!

Karen started painting at a very young age and enjoyed sketching and painting animals trying to find the unique personality in her subjects. She received formal training at her local college concentrating on color and design. She discovered the software program "Painter" nine years ago and has since then enjoyed creating images using a Wacom tablet and stylus. The same principles can be applied to painting digitally as in traditional media painting. The technique of "painting with digital light" enables her to have command of skills that are both traditional and state-of-the-art.

One of Karen's digital paintings was shown in New York at Digital Art Expo and she is proud to say that she has been chosen "best painting" several times in MyJanee's Art Challenge. Many of Karen's digital paintings have been printed as greeting cards which are sold at local retailer in her area.

Karen spent much of her life in Capitola, California on the beautiful Monterey Bay. About two years ago, she and her husband moved to Hawaii and spent a wonderful year there. They now call Prescott, Arizona home along with their two beautiful Ragdoll cats Andy and Zu Zu. The cats are the inspiration for some of Karen's work.

Karen looks forward to helping you explore the world of digital painting; it has been a wonderful journey for her!

Karen's website: karenbonakerart.com

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Victoria Burns
Access 2003 Intermediate
Word 2003 Advanced

Victoria is currently a Database Records Keeper for U.S.Airways Express Division. She has a B.S. Degree in Business Administration and is working on Thesis for completion of Masters Degree in Information Resource Management from Central Michigan University.

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Kathy Clark:
Flash
Swish
Email Basics

Kat Kathy, aka Kat, worked in the telecommunications field for twenty years. Her duties included traveling to other regions to be trained on new programs and to bring that knowledge back to her company to train co-workers.

Kat's passion to learn prompted her "early retirement" so she could pursue her dream of a home based business in computer training and web design.

Kat's web site: www.kmclark.com

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Lori Davis:
Digital Photography with PSP
Gardening
PS Elements
Scrapbooking

Lori Davis Lori has been a writer and teacher in one form or another for most of her life. In recent years, she has authored several books on Paint Shop Pro and has coauthored a book on digital scrapbooking. She has taught online classes on computer graphics and basic JavaScript and has contributed to Digital Camera Magazine.

For fun, Lori explores a number of graphics programs and plugin filters, enjoys both film and digital photography, dabbles in several crafts, and gardens.

Lori's web site: loriweb.pair.com

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Connie Densmore, MA, ABD:
English Composition

I began teaching at an Elementary School in 1991. Then, in 1997, I decided to teach college level.

I received a Bachelors of Arts degree in English Language and Literature with World Literature Concentration, Fine Arts Drawing and Painting, and Humanities from Central Michigan University. My Bachelors Thesis is a critical analysis of a select few of Harki Murakami's fiction.

I received a Master of Arts in English Language and Literature with a 20th Century Concentration. My Master Thesis is a critical analysis of a selected few of Toni Morrison's academic and fictional novels and the title is Toni Morrison: Silence, Revealed, and Spoken.

I have over 7 years teaching various online courses as well as over 11 years of teaching college level courses. I have over 18 years of published writing and presenting my writings. I have over 30 years experience working with Computers-Windows and Apple OS.

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Fredia Dillard:
Advanced Excel *SS*

Fredia has been teaching online courses for the employees of the University of Alabama at Birmingham since October 2000. In her spare time (ha, ha) she enjoys spending time with her husband and Welch Springer Spaniel, Lady, square dancing, cross-stitching, Broadway plays (just saw Phantom of the Opera last spring), and listening to old Paul Revere and the Raiders music. She loves teaching Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Dreamweaver, and HTML. Her favorite thing about teaching is "seeing" the light bulb go on when someone "gets it." Please be patient with her as she learns the LVS "way"

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Terry Dillard:
Genealogy (Finding the Nuts in Your Family Tree)

Terry has been researching his family tree since approximately 10 B.I. (Before Internet), and has been using computers since the advent of the Radio Shack TRS-80, his first computer. He has seen his principle method of research go from libraries and family documents to a blended method which now includes Internet research through the World Wide Web, message boards, and surprise e-mails from people tracing the same lineage he is.

He holds an M.Ed. in Counseling, Leadership, & Guidance. This doesn't qualify him as an online instructor, but does insure that if he traumatizes anyone too badly with his teaching, he can gently guide them back to sanity. His wife of almost 25 years is Fredia Dillard, instructor of Advanced Excel. They live in a suburb of Birmingham, AL, have a Welsh Springer Spaniel named Lady, and are much too busy to have any kind of real life.

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Aimee Evans:
GED Prep

Aimee first became interested in helping others back in the early 1990's when she worked as a Medical Assistant and Pharmacy Technician. After working in the medical field for six years, she decided to branch out into teaching. Combining her love of science with higher education, she graduated from Florida Community College with her AA degree, attended Chadron State College, and received her BS degree from Charter Oak State College.

Aimee's professional certifications include being an integrated curriculum teacher for the middle and high school grades, as well as, a College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA) certified tutor at the college level.

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Niveen Fahmy:
Home Diagnostics

Niveen has a B.S. and Masters in Biomedical Engineering. She also has a 2-year teaching experience in a private high school and currently work as a private tutor. Niveen teaches high school and college students Biology, Chemistry and Mathematics.

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Bean Fairbanks:
Database Development using MySQL Introduction
Database Development using MySQL & PHP Intermediate
Dreamweaver
PHP T/A

Bean Fairbanks Bean has been a life long educator, taking great delight in watching her students learn about computers, graphics, sewing, textile arts, design, relationships and their own bodies. She developed a love affair with databases when trying to meet the multiple complex needs of her patients 14 years ago. The power and efficiency won her over and databases have been in her bag of tricks ever since. She has served as a small business consultant for over ten years, assisting small business owners, non-profit organizations and community groups by obtaining, organizing and presenting the information that they need to succeed. This has covered the spectrum of needs assessments, satisfaction surveys, web sites, e-commerce sites, newsletters, branding, promotional materials and of course a variety of databases.

In addition, Bean is a usability tester for Adobe products. She uses Dreamweaver and Photoshop daily to create and revise the front end of a variety of websites, from the provocative to the mundane. MySQL and PHP are her current tools of choice for developing and maintaining the backend of web sites. Whether it is behind the scenes or the graphical interface of a web site, Bean strives for a solid, functional, logical and efficient design tailored to the specific needs of her clients.

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Roberta Falkner
Nonprofit Fund Raising

For more than 20 years, Roberta worked for Midwest nonprofit organizations in the areas of management, fund development, marketing (public awareness), membership programs, special events, grant writing, board development, and donor relations and has helped raised more than $4.5 million in charitable contributions. As a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE), Roberta teaches fundraising courses that enable her students to raise funds and public awareness for their organizations like a professional.

Roberta currently works as a freelance nonprofit fundraiser and offers her clients consultation in nonprofit management, fund development, and marketing in addition to back-office services as a nonprofit virtual assistant. Her favorite clients are museums and historical societies as her interests include American history, especially the era of the Santa Fe Trail and the opening of the American Frontier. She serves on the Board of the Santa Fe Trail Association and works with fundraising associations to provide classes and workshops for the professional fundraiser.

Roberta's web site: va-assist.com

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Harold L. Fisher, Jr., M.Ed
Computer Skills for the Workplace

Presently, I am working on my Doctor of Education degree at Walden University. I am an Adjunct Instructor for Ashford University online and a Middle School teacher within Spring Independent School District, where I teach Career Investigations and Multimedia Masters. I am also proud to be an Adjunct Instructor at my Alma Mata, College of Biblical Studies in Houston, Texas.

I completed my Bachelor of Biblical Studies at CBS in the Fall of 2002. I have graduate hours at Dallas Theological Seminary. I have a Masters degree in Education in Instructional Technology from American Intercontinental University, and a Masters degree of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Our Lady of the Lake University.

My hobbies are golf, research, and spending quality time with my wife and kids.

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Sara Froehlich:
Illustrator
Fireworks
Freehand
Photoshop FX

Sara started on computers with an Apple IIe in the 80's when the principal of the Lutheran School she was librarian of at the time decided he wanted a card catalog on computer. So after a lot of "Um, Bob...?" (I bet there was more than once Bob wished he'd never had that idea!) she discovered that thing could do more than keep track of the Dewey Decimal system; and if you didn't mind no colors, it could do graphics as well. The interest was born there, and has expanded some 15 years later to a keen interest in graphics, and all the things to be accomplished with a great program and fast computer. (And color. That was a real plus!) Among her favorites are Illustrator, Expression, Photoshop, FreeHand and Fireworks. She's been writing tutorials for 4 years in various programs.

Sara has been married for 28 years, has four children and two grandsons. Somebody spoiled them. It might have been her but she isn't saying!

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Brian Goddard:
Music - Piano/Keyboard

Brian was employed as a relieving Postmaster and Postal Clerk by the Postmaster General's Dept later becoming Australia Post, in the central wheatbelt and goldfields area of Western Australia for many years. He had learnt the piano when he was attending Junior High School, and usually managed to find a piano to play on, through someone's kindness at most towns where he was posted. Brian has always been interested in the arts, and left Australia Post in 1978 to pursue a career as a private music teacher. In 1986 he was awarded the Diploma in Teacher Of Music, Australia (T.Mus.A.) of the Australian Music Examinations Board. In 1989 Brian was awarded the Performer's Certificate in Pianoforte at the Trinity College of Music London.

Brian continues to have several students in his retirement and now plays piano duets with Barbara Pearce from Armadale Western Australia. In 2004 they were awarded the Associate Diploma of the St. Cecilia School of Music in Pianoforte Duet Performance. The duet repertoire includes mainly classical including works by Mozart,Brahms, Debussy and Faure, also a work for two pianos by Mozart.

Brian's website: www.blgoddard.com

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Shelly Goldhar:
InDesign

Shelly Goldhar A graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto, SG has been involved in various creative media over the years, including film, video, writing, and most recently computer graphics. Her background includes tech support and teaching and she currently runs her own computer graphics studio, working on diverse projects, many of them in InDesign.

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Sandy Hale:
Introduction to Advertising
Event Management
Wedding Planning

Sandy Hale After graduating from YHS, Sandy moved to Southern California to pursue her education. She holds a Master in Business Administration with an emphasis in Management from the University of Phoenix in San Diego and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from San Diego State University. She has a wide range of marketing-related experience; from the supplier/agency side to the client side of the relationship and from sales to the operations of the business.

Sandy's career experience includes managing all types of events including tradeshows, auto shows, conventions, city-wide conferences, travel incentive programs, sales meetings, and special events throughout the U.S. and internationally for groups of 20 to 5,000 people. During the past 15 years, she's worked her way up the corporate ladder from Marketing Assistant to Director of Operations and General Manager before returning to Oakhurst to join the Chamber of Commerce as the new Marketing Director before joining Manco Abbott. Sandy brings a wealth of event-related expertise to the area and is excited to share her working knowledge with the community as a whole.

Throughout her career, Sandy has traveled extensively through the U.S. and internationally; managing events in Germany, England, Scotland, Austria, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Canada. Her repertoire includes BMW of North America, Toshiba Systems, Lincoln Mercury, Siebel Systems, Toyota Motors, Allergan Pharmaceuticals, AmeriQuest Mortgage, Cornerstone Financial Services, Corning Nichols, Penny Saver, and Small Times Media Group.

In her private life, Sandy has been a volunteer for the American Red Cross for 5 years, Madera County Search and Rescue for 2 years and the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).

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Michele Hamer:
Understanding Anatomy for Self Healing
Medicinal Herbs
Meridian Psychotherapy
Reflexology
Reiki Energy Healing

Michele Hamer Michele is a certified Reflexologist, Reiki Practitioner, Meridian Psychotherapist and has a diploma in Medicinal Herbalogy.

Michele worked in the Healthcare Industry in the United States for over eight years before pursuing an education in Alternative and Complementary Health Therapies. A three year relocation to Europe gave her an opportunity to study at internationally recognized and accredited colleges in holistic medicine and trained with experts in the field. Michele gained a personal perspective on how successful European healthcare providers are at integrating traditional medicine with alternative therapies to achieve tremendous results for their patients.

In moving back to the US, Michele saw the need to de-mystify the American public's view of Alternative and Complementary therapies by demonstrating their ability to help restore the body's natural healing process.

Michele started her company, Natural Healing Works, LLC. with the dedication to not only provide an alternative approach to healthcare, but to educate her clients as to how and why they work.

Michele's website: www.theresabetterway.com

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Pat Hinds:
PhotoImpact Objects

Pat lives in east Texas and works part-time in a little store near her home. She began doing graphics over 3 years ago when she found Stephanie's tutorials for PI, and has been hooked ever since. She has written a few tutorials for PI and moderates the Challenge Forum on Stephanie's PhotoImpact Bulletin Board.

Pat's website: http://home.att.net/~phinds

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Deborah Dee Hoffmann:
Build Your Website - Level I

Deborah, a desert rat in Phoenix, AZ, is a dual-degreed engineer gone amuck. When they discontinued the use of slide rules, the entertainment value disappeared. If you can't wake up in the morning and passionately look forward to the day ahead, go into another occupation, which is what she did. Deborah worked as a Project Engineer and Project Manager for a number of contractors over the years and in 1991, formed her own Construction Management consulting firm.

Not that long ago, a friend of hers put forth a challenge: develop a website. Knowing absolutely nothing about the concept, Deborah bought a book about HTML and two months later had a live site. As a self-proclaimed compulsive-obsessive, she found coding, graphics design and web development occupying a great deal of her time - and loving every minute of it.

Thanks to LVS and its extraordinary commitment to make learning fun, Deborah's desire to continue gaining knowledge and growth in a new and constantly changing environment being fulfilled.

Deborah's hobbies include reading, any craft associated with a needle and thread, yarn, or fabric, watercolor painting, watercolor pencil art, NASCAR racing, and teaching tatting classes.

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Cathy Jourdan:
Building Self-Esteem and Confidence

Cathy is a published author and screenwriter. With a Bachelors of Science in counseling, her conversational style of writing makes for enjoyable reading in any genre. Her experience in counseling ranges from hospital work to working in a prison with inmates and their families.

Her first published fiction work, Admission of Guilt is an interesting look inside the walls of a prison at the dark sub-culture that dominates. She currently has another book that is slated to be published and released for sale in Spring 2008. She says her inspiration comes from many sources, but always from people she has known, places she has been, and things she has learned.

One of her pet peeves is the rights of individuals and the dignified treatment of all. She believes we all bring something of value and importance to the table and she wants all of us to celebrate that.

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Rooholla Keshtkar:
AutoCAD2008

Rooholla is management of Computer section in a company. He has a bachelor's degree in structure engineering and study about civil's softwares. He has taught in a university since 2005. Rooholla writes educational text on using the computer and Internet in engineering. These are not published works, but are used by students in the university.

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Steven Kidd:
Intro to the Internet

Hi, my name is Steven Kidd. I am 40 years old and have been self employed for most of my adult life. Since the late 1980s I have worked in the computer industry. In the 80s I owned a company that sold the newly emerging laptop computer to insurance salesmen. This continued to grow, and even before the technical beginnings of the internet I was dealing with bulletin boards and other such services that were the inception of the internet. The current incarnation of my company is Alveus Internet Solution which started in early 1996 as an ISP and has been in business ever since. Though most of our business these days is in internet commerce, sales and marketing we do still build and develop web sites for a few of our clients.

Over the last several years we have also spent a considerable amount of time creating and educating businesses about VoIP and how it can work for them. I take great pride in my specialty which is what I like to call translating programmer and engineer speak into normal language. Among many other wonderful references I have received from customers over the years perhaps the following sums them up best:
"I learned more in a two hour conversation over the phone with Steve about how to successfully operate my internet based company then I had learned in the past two years from every other souce!" Harry Barmon TSRW

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John Kramar:
ArtRage

John Kramar For over 30 years John has developed graphics of his work for his presentations. When the Macintosh came out in 1984 he was immediately captured by its graphical interface he frequently found himself having to develop graphics of his analysis work on his Mac as its capabilities surpassed those of his employer. While taking traditional art courses he found himself figuring out how to use the techniques being taught on moderately priced consumer art computer programs. To him the Tablet PC was a natural tool for the digital artist and he obtained one at a reasonable price through eBay in 2005. ArtRage was bundled with other software on the Tablet PC and John was impressed with its simple elegance. When ArtRage 2 was offered in with expanded capabilities February 2006 he found himself using it for most of his graphical painting efforts on both his Mac and Tablet PC.

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Ron Lacey:
PSP
XaraX
Digital Photography
Digital Darkroom

Ron LaceyRon first got seriously involved in photography in the mid 70s when he bought his first 35mm SLR. Shortly after he set up his own darkroom to gain more creative control over the craft. In the late 90s Ron took the plunge into digital photography using a transparency scanner to digitize 35mm slides and now uses it almost exclusively and has become fluent in the digital darkroom techniques of Paint Shop Pro, Photoshop and Photoshop Elements. As well as the digital photography classes he teaches Adobe Photoshop For Digital Photographers. He co wrote Paint Shop Pro 8 Zero to Hero, published by Friends of Ed, with fellow LVS instructor Sally Beacham and in the past wrote articles for About.com and PSPPower.com.

Ron makes his home with his wife, MC, in the country just north of Thunder Bay Ontario. Being semi retired from the heavy construction industry he has plenty of time to spend on digital photography. His other interests include sailing, scuba diving, photography and, during the very long northwestern Ontario winters, downhill skiing.

Ron's web site: borealphotography.com/

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Coleen Lawrence:
Conscious Romantic Relationships

Coleen has had a life long passion and devotion to knowledge and insight into human behavior, interaction, consciousness, and the nature of the spirit of humankind. As a result, she has studied and written about such subjects as the dynamics of romantic relationships, general intercommunication, psychology, philosophy, spirituality, and personal growth.

Her belief is that an evolution in our general level of self awareness is essential, and that its development is the first step to reacquainting with our true selves, and vastly improving our relationships and lives. Coleen is an accredited relationship and self growth counselor, writer,and creator of Life Path, a web site dedicated to helping people discover paths for relationship happiness,longevity, develop self awareness, and general positive life transformation.

Via Life Path, she offers counseling services, and authors articles used in personal growth publications across the Internet.

In her spare time, she enjoys physical fitness training, and has previously spent several years doing weekly volunteer work,which entailed helping individuals suffering from debilitating emotional challenges learn new life skills, and reintegrate back into society.

Her true love is helping people have healthier, happier, lasting relationships, and develop a sense of inner esteem & confidence, as they come to know themselves more fully.

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Phyllis List:
Paint Shop Pro

Phyllis is a retired paralegal with 25 years experience in the field, and has been a computer user for almost as long. Beginning with the first magnetic card typewriters in the early 70s Phyllis continued on to running a BBS in the early 90s, before deciding it was WAY too much work. She moved from there to the Net, web and graphic design in 1996 where she, both with a partner and as a sole designer, designs business and corporate websites. Phyllis has been using PSP in its various versions since 1996, and says that the day she stops learning is the day she'll lie down and give up the ghost.

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Bob Long:
Learning DOS
Intro to Windows

BobBob has been working with computers most of his life, but refuses to tell us how many years this time covers...  His first introduction to the computer world involved writing programs for the commercial Banks when they first automated a few years back.

Since this experience piqued his interest in the programming field, Bob has spent years working with the C+ program language and has written several DOS based programs for his personal use. Even though he finally was convinced to accept the Windows environment, he has retained his working knowledge of DOS.

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Vikki Long
XHTML/SSI
CSS
HomeSite
Build Your Website - Level III
Photoshop

Vikki Vikki lives with her husband Bob, 2 dogs, 1 cat, and several fish in Georgia.

Vikki has been in the "people" field all her life. She has always been a teacher although not in the conventional classroom; for more than 20 years Vikki helped people with disabilities learn alternative ways of doing things.

Having formed her own web design business a few years ago, Vikki has several clients, including both commercial and not-for-profit sites.

With excellent hands-on knowledge of HTML, web design and graphics, Vikki loves helping others turn on that "light bulb". After years of assisting friends and co-workers with computer, software, and Internet questions, she has now turned her hand to a more structured way of teaching.

Vikki's web site: www.brovik.com

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Sylvia Lutnes:
Self-Study Bryce
Poser

Sylvia (aka Cricket) has been sharing knowledge on personal computers since the late '70's, and Bryce since the day the Windows version appeared on the shelves of her local computer store. She has been helping people with their graphics applications in online conferences and chat rooms since well before the Web, and currently busies herself as a CTech Volunteer in Corel's graphics forums.

Sylvia has always found computers fun and creative. She believes the more we know, the better we all are and delights in watching new users bloom into accomplished artists.

Sylvia's web site: www.thecricketcage.com

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Peter Mayer:
KPT
PSP Vector Graphics
FrontPage
Filter Frenzy
Xara Xtreme

Peter Peter operates his custom saddle shop in central BC, Canada. His interest in computers began when he surfed the web at a friend's place. He decided the Internet was neat and he just had to have his own web site. After getting a PC and Front Page, having a somewhat steep learning curve, he got is first web page on line. It was a pretty crude page and the next step was to pretty things up a bit. That is when he discovered PSP and got addicted to computer graphics.

Along the way he came across LVS and been taking classes here for a number of years. Having received a lot of help along the way in his quest for computer knowledge, Peter is always willing to share what he has learned and help someone along with solving a problem.

Peter's website: www.rggtrappings.com/

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Britt McCary:
UV Mapper
Terragen
Bryce
Poser

Britt Britt started her teaching back when personal computers had 128 K, and the wordprocessor was "Wordstar". As the computers became more powerful, and the software more advanced, she continued teaching most of the popular software. She ran a Software teching company in Norway, that managed and ran Computerland's school and other schools. In addition to that her company was used as a teaching resource for large companies both in the private and public sector in Norway.

In the recent years she has moved to the US, and use graphical software mostly as a hobby. She is also an MS Office resource for an Atlanta-based company."

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Robert McConkey
   "Live as if your were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever". -Gandi
eBay Explained
Writing a Business Plan

Bob has a lifelong passion for all things computing and business. A published writer and poet, he currently owns and operates several online businesses as well as one brick and mortar consulting company. As a business person he has learned the value of good information and as a computer geek he has discovered the value of sharing it.

His innate curiosity has driven him to explore deeply the brave new world of e-commerce and how it is shaping our lives. He is currently teaching live seminar classes as a part of his business consulting practice and will soon be teaching marketing and business management at a local community college. His teaching style is creative, refreshing, and definitely enriching.

A native of the Pacific Northwest you may find him scuba diving, snow skiing or just enjoying his two children. But one thing is certain he will be continually learning and exploring new things with the same zeal and enthusiasm that he shares as an instructor.

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Al Mierau:
Search Engine Placement
Basic Photography
Computer Security

Al Mierau Al Mierau worked for three of Canada's largest lending institutions for twenty years as an expert in lending and marketing. He later returned to university and then opened his own appraisal investigation firm often acting as an expert witness in arson cases over a 13 year period. Following this career, with his investigative mind, Mierau turned his interest to search engines positioning completing a course on the subject at Keeneshaw University.

However, Al is not all science. He has a very creative mind, which shows in his pursuit of arts, such as making rustic willow furniture, oil painting, and photography. When he is not pursuing these endeavors, he can be found on lakes windsurfing and sailing.

Al Mierau's photographs have been published nationally with Gardens West, Air Canada, Grandfather, Heritage Canada, and Canada West magazines

Al and his wife Marion are also busy travelling with a Saskatoon tour company to locations such as the Maritimes, central and south eastern USA destinations.

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Elaina Moore-Kelly:
   "A day without graphics is a day when my computer is down (and so am I)."
Desktop Publishing with PrintShop

Elaina Moore-Kelly Elaina lives in Florida with her husband, her dog, her 2 cockatiels, and various finches. After spending 15 years at IBM, Elaina never expected to have a computer in her own home. In 1997 her husband decided he wanted to be "plugged in" and he bought a MacIntosh with a whopping 32 megabytes of RAM. He finally convinced Elaina to give it a try and she was immediately hooked, but soon got tired of sharing, so she bought a PC for herself and got a free version of PrintMaster with it.

After following the instructions and creating her first greeting card, Elaina decided she loved computer graphics. She tried several other printing programs and finally settled on The Print Shop. While making her own cards, Elaina also began making her own graphics and became a Paint Shop Pro junkie. Eventually she began writing PSP tutorials and became a Beta tester for both Jasc and Corel.

These days, in addition to creating custom cards and gifts for friends and family, Elaina hangs around on the web talking to other graphics addicts and taking art classes at LVS.

Elaina's website: www.nightshadowfx.com

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Viki Nygaard:
Author - Dreamweaver 3 & 4 Self-Study courses
Viki Nygaard has been a computer geek since 1988 when she bought her first computer. After 8 years in the accounting field, she left the industry this year to pursue her passion - starting her own web design business. She received her certificate as a Web Design/Internet Specialist in December 2000.

Viki has a vast range of computer knowledge including some programming experience, and enjoys creating web sites, as it gives her a creative outlet. She has done the complete design and development of several web site businesses and has several in the works.

Viki's web site: www.mountevansdesigns.com

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Kevin O'Connor:
Lightning Mathematics

Kevin lives in Dublin, Ireland. Kevin has been interested in Vedic Mathematics (an alternative way of learning mathematics) for a long time and is still amazed at how unknown the topic is. Kevin comes from a scientific background, with a BCs in Physics. Kevin enjoys game and course fishing, surfing the web and running his memory improvement website.

Kevin's web site: www.memorymentor.com/

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Vera Olson:
QuarkXpress
Vera has been a Technical Writer for more than 11 years. In that time, she has written a wide variety of instructional documents for a software training company, a medical company, and a monitor manufacturing company. Prior to writing, she was a software and hardware trainer for several years. In the past 6 years, she has been producing company help guides and installation guides using a variety of Desktop Publishing/Page Layout tools.

Vera's real passion is in teaching and training. While in college, she taught tennis for the YMCA. Now, there's not much time for tennis but she still enjoys teaching and hopes to share her knowledge with others.

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Mary Cox-Pace:
Writing Your Memoirs
Preparing Your Manuscript For Publication

Mary Cox-PaceAuthor of six books, editor, illustrator and National award-winning mouth-artist and Christian quadriplegic. Mary Cox-Pace (books written under Mary Cox-Bilz) has worked in the rehabilitation field, direct sales, and marketing, along with teaching and writing on a local and national level.

Mary has an Associates degree in religious education from School of the Bible in California, a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Salisbury University in Maryland, and a Masters degree in theology from Northwestern Theological Seminary in Florida.

She types on the computer with a mouth-stick between her teeth at the rate of twenty-nine correct words per minute and draws by grasping a pen between her teeth. Mary and her husband, John, currently reside in Maryland.

Mary's website: turningyourmemoriesintomemoirs.blogspot.com

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Val Perkins:
Intro to Windows
CorelDRAW

ValVal Perkins is a teacher, musician, author, illustrator, and nurse. Val has actively taught for 20+ years and has authored and illustrated her own Sunday School curriculum for preschoolers. Val communicates across a broad audience range.

Over the years, Val P. has taught music, sailing, canoeing, Spanish, English as a second language, introductory nursing skills, and several other strange things. She took her first computer course in 1974 when she also did her first computer graphics project- printing dragonflies and butterflies in x's and o's on a teletype machine. After that, she thought she was done with computers until in 1980 she married a computer engineer. Their first major purchase as a couple was a home computer and the rest, as they say, is history.

When she's not at her computer, Val can usually be found at her sewing machine, practicing her harp, or working in her flower garden.

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Becky Peters:
Build Your Website II
Flash
Swish
Becky owns a small computer consulting firm in the midwestern US, providing services ranging from hardware/software selection & troubleshooting, to customized training programs and websites.

She has a long history with being addicted to computers - her first PC (from IBM) came on a pallet in pieces with 3 boxes of documentation. (In those days, you had to assemble them.) She has programming experience in ancient languages (COBOL, FORTRAN, RPG II & III, Progress IV & V, Cassette BASIC!), has been a technical writer, software tester and Nat'l Dir of Software Training, as well as an IT/Mgmt consultant to Wall Street law firms. Nowadays, Becky buys her computers whole and takes them apart afterward. Rather than program, she now delights in making commercial programs do things they aren't designed to do.

Becky does extensive public speaking & training, and sits on several national boards. She has been a longtime student at LVS (says it relieves stress) and is thrilled to be able to give something back to the LVS community!

As a self-proclaimed Slacker, her greatest goal in life is to simplify things to the extent she can carry everything she owns in her purse - except her cat, who is carried on a golden pillow at all times!

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Kimberly Rackett:
Effective Writing
Kimberly has had a passion for the English language since she was a child. When she began reading grammar and writing books in her free time, her family knew there would be a Bachelor's degree in English in her future.

After graduation, Kimberly began a career unrelated to her English degree. She has continued in this career for many years, but also finds time for her passion for English in her "side career" as an Effective Writing instructor for evening programs at local high schools. Her students range from business managers seeking to effectively improve their writing skills, to housewives reentering the business force, to college students seeking help with writing techniques, to immigrants wishing to become more familiar with the English language and its subtleties.

Now, Kimberly is branching out to share her experience with the online world, and to help others reach their goals of learning to more effectively express themselves in writing.

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Leo Reinfeld:
Lighting for the Digital Photographer
Leo's craziness for light made him fall in love with the work of Dutch painter Rembrandt who still today he calls the best photographer ever. As a child, being an extremely introverted kid, he spent many hours observing his surroundings, drawing and painting.

Throughout the years Leo has been exposed to many interesting and profound photography events. For details click here.

Leo's website: www.leoreinfeld.com

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Mary Rich:
Javascript Modification
Once upon a time, when dinosaurs still roamed the earth, Mary Rich was working claims for an insurance agency. One day she saw an ad in the newspaper for programmer trainees. Lo and behold, programmer trainees made more money than insurance claims managers ... and probably had a lot fewer angry people yelling at them. So she made the switch, found out what programmers did, and fell in love! The affair continued through mainframes and mid-range systems, then peaked when the first IBM-PCs arrived. A REAL computer, with 64K memory, two 320K floppy disk drives, a CPM emulation card, and a monitor - all of this on a desk AT HOME! More toys followed, and she finally got involved with various graphics programs. Then web sites. She can make pretty objects on the monitor move around and flash on and off and do all kinds of neat things with JavaScript and DHTML. And now, she can show other people how to do it, too.

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Jeramie Risinger:
PHP
Database Development using MySQL Introduction T/A
Database Development using MySQL & PHP - Intermediate T/A
Jeramie Risinger was raised the Midwestern part of the United States. Throughout his youth he was fascinated with computers and programming. He began toying with websites and programming in high school. Later, while in college, he discovered the joys of PHP/MySql and has been hooked ever since. He graduated from the University of South Dakota with a Bachelor of Science Degree, Magna Cum Laude. He double majored in Computer Science and German with a math minor. After graduating from USD, Jeramie was awarded a year long Fulbright to Germany. After Returning to the United States he found work at a small company in Seattle, Washington, as a PHP/MySql web developer where he's been employed for over a year.

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Peggi Rodgers :
Author: Totally Tables, CorelDraw
Peggi resides in Redding, California with her husband, one black and white cat and a large Golden Retriever.

For the past 15 years she has been involved in the field of print publications, responsible for technical writing, art illustration, and design of everything from newsletters to trade show booths. During the last three years, Peggi has moved into web design, utilizing JavaScript and Flash to create interactive sites and online quizzes. In addition, Peggi is a Member in Letters of the National League of American Pen Women, publishing numerous articles in regional and national magazines, newspapers and scientific journals.

In her spare time, Peggi enjoys playing acoustic guitar, trekking around in their power boat, and is an active volunteer in the fields of wildlife rehabilitation and Golden Retriever rescue.

Peggi's web site: www.mistycanyon.com

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Hillary Sadur:
Digital Art
Digital Art - Beyond the Basics
Digital Artists Studio
PhotoImpact X3

Hillary majored in art at the University of Oklahoma, as well as private studies with an accomplished European artist. For the past 40 years her forte has been oil paintings, ranging from landscapes/seascapes/cityscapes to florals, still life and portraits. She has also worked with watercolors and acrylics.

She has written several innovative tutorials dealing with the artistic elements of PhotoImpact and has been an avid PI user since version 4 was released and has been a Beta Tester for Ulead. Hillary also has done many websites for friends and clients, as well as designing logos. Her present Web Design Program is Front Page 2000.

She is retired from a varied career ranging from advertising & copywriting, corporate and financial public relations, point-of-purchase display advertising, computer sales as well as Administrative/Office Manager & Production Manager, proofreader & instructor in a variety of fields from medical and engineering to law, just to name a few. She began using computers in 1978 while working for a top PR firm in Los Angeles. She's also been a disk jockey...LOL

Her hobbies include: painting, digital art, website design, photography, writing, sewing, needlepoint, crochet and handcrafts, gourmet cooking, and reading.

She is a single mother of two and has three grandchildren. She has lived on the island of Oahu in Hawaii for 25 years since moving from Los Angeles. Her greatest joy is in sharing her knowledge with others.

Personal Website: www.reflectionshawaii.com
Photo Impact: www.reflectionshawaii.com/pi and www.reflectionshawaii.com/pirc

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Donna Sellinger:
Quicken Basics
Expression Web

Donna received her bachelor s degree in education from of the University of Miami and her master s degree from Indiana University. She taught in the Dade County, Florida public schools for ten years prior to going on active duty in the Army Reserve.

Donna retired from the military, attended George Washington University where she received a Certificate in Web Development and currently owns her own web design business. She teaches web design in local area continuing education programs and online.

Donna's web site: expressive-designs.com

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Sonja Shea:
Filter Frenzy
MS FrontPage
PSP Vector Graphics
Photoshop

Sonja has been a private beta tester for Paint Shop Pro for the past five versions of the program and is currently a C-Tech Volunteer for PSP. She has been an instructor at Leader in Virtual Studies Online Classes (LVS Online), which is a Corel Training Partner, for the past 6 years.

Sonja has worked as a technical editor on a number of beginner-level Paint Shop Pro and Photography titles by Thomson Course Technology PTR. Sonja is also an active moderator on several graphic filter lists. Even with her busy schedule, she still finds time to help "newbies" become successful with their new software purchases.

Sonja's web site: www.psptoybox.com/

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Suz Shook:
PSP Scripting

Suz ShookSuz spent many years teaching high school math in Vermont and upstate New York, and then moved to Ohio to pursue a career as a computer programmer on large IBM mainframes for the Defense department. As a programmer, Suz worked in security, installed and provided training for storage management hardware and systems in Defense installations across the country, and worked as lead technical support person with a major Defense Department payroll application for several years. After retirement, Suz went back to school, earning an associate degree in nursing, and becoming a Registered Nurse. With her voracious appetite for learning, Suz soon discovered the personal computer, delved into online classes, and began exploring graphics and websites. She taught herself HTML so she could set up a website for her nursing class, and eventually set up her own website. For the past several years, she has been involved with the Paint Shop Pro community, writing many tutorials, and serving as a beta tester for both PSP 8 and PSP 9. With the advent of scripting in PSP 8, Suz's interest in programming was again sparked, and she taught herself Python so she could go beyond simply recording scripts. You can find many of her creative scripts on her web site, along with tutorials, Quick Guides, and other goodies.

In her spare time, Suz dabbles in gardening, reading, and cross stitch - and spends as much time as possible with her wonderful husband, Jaron!

Suz's web site: http://users.adelphia.net/~suzshook/index.htm

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Dia Spriggs:
Numerology
Acrylic American Landscape Painting
Acrylic Bird Painting
Acrylic Landscape Painting
Acrylic Pet Portrait Painting
Acrylic Wildlife Painting

Dia lives in Florida with her 11 cats, 5 dogs and 2 birds, all rescue animals.

She has a Ch.t in Hypnotherapy, EPT as an Emotrance Practioner, is a Reiki Master and incorporates natural healing energy techniques in a private in person, phone and email counseling practice.

Dia is a professional writer, having written articles for animal and garden magazines and is the author of a world wide selling CD, "Natural Health Encyclopaedia", and an ebook on Numerology.

She also is an artist, specializing in realistic animal painting, juried member of EBSQ+ and has many paintings in private collections.

Dia's websites:
http://spirithealer.net
http://dragonlite.net

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Frank Stepanski:
Basic Web Applications using ASP
Database E-Commerce Basics with ASP

Frank currently works as senior systems analyst in the health care industry and is also is a part-time adjunct faculty member at a local community college. He has taught a number of different web related classes over the past couple years focusing on topics such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, ASP and Flash. He volunteers at a local computer club teaching JavaScript and ASP.NET basics. He also is planning on starting a Masters program in Software Engineering in Fall 07.

In his spare time Frank loves to travel and has recently gotten into digital photography.

Frank's web site: http://www.JavaScriptWorkshop.com

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Stephanie M. Reid-Taylor:
Skills for Learning in an Information Age

Stephanie M. Reid-TaylorStephanie lives in Groveport, Ohio with her family. She has a bachelors degree in marketing/business administration from Franklin University(Columbus, Ohio) and received her MBA from Ashland University. She works full-time in the financial services industry and part-time with Columbus City Schools teaching in the Adult Basic Literacy Education/GED preparation program. She has a commitment to life long learning and is thankful to LVS for the opportunity to fulfill a desire to teach on-line.

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Peggy Taranenko:
PSP
Animation Shop
Peggy worked in the airline industry for 25 years, some of that time as a trainer who taught computer programs. The skills that Peggy learned working with the general public, writing technical help manuals, and supervising others, has lead her into a new endeavor - teaching classes online. Peggy is PC user with over 10 year's experience. One day soon, she hopes to know it all and make the internet a better, prettier place by using the knowledge she has gleaned from all the others willing to teach.

Peggy's web site: www.flashpowdergraphics.com

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Jennifer Wagner:
MS Power Point
MS Word
MS Access
MS Excel
MS Publisher
In 1973, Jennifer watched a computer play tic-tac-toe for 2 hours -- and didn't have any idea that that fascination with a machine would bloom into a love for technology. Jennifer's day job consists of teaching computer skills to 450 elementary/junior high students. She also provides seminars to assist teachers using technology and she sponsors 4 Online Projects each year.

In the evening, when she's not reviewing LVS homework, Jennifer creates websets and maintains a "technology help for teachers" website. Finally, she spends time each day playing with her black and white kitty, Mac!! Smiles -- but don't worry --- there is life away from the computer. Jennifer also enjoys reading, writing, going to the movies, and just having a great time with life & friends!

Jennifer's Web Site: www.technospud.com

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Peggy Walters:
Vue 6
Peggy has been a Technical Writer for more than 20 years. For the last 13 years she has written a wide variety of technical documents for an oceanographic equipment manufacturing company. About 6 years ago, she discovered the world of 3D graphics. The joy of creating 3D artwork and being able to share her knowledge with others is what makes Peggy the happiest!

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Teacher Assistants

Carol Bartl:
PSP

Carol has been a Medical Technologist, Oil Painter, and Computer Programmer & Consultant. She is also wife, mother of 3, and grandmother of 5 (so far). Her current passion is digital photography with those grandkids being favorite subjects.

Since Carol bought her first computer in 1981 she has never stopped using one. One of her favorite things to do is learn. Discovering that she could learn without leaving the computer (i.e. on-line classes) has been wonderful.

Carol lives in Wisconsin and has a house in Florida where she hides away occasionally. She travels often; at this time most of her travels take her where her grandkids live.

Carol's web site: http://www.cewbit.com

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Hilary Cheyne (aka Hils):
Build Your Website - Level III
Having very happily grown up with an Artist Grandmother, a Father who had an incredible eye for design and a Mother who encouraged all things creative, it was a great sadness that she was told by her school that "no my dear - we don't do graphic design here!". So Hils' career took a different route working in varied workplaces including Oil, Construction, Travel and Hospitality.

'Out of the box computers' arrived and were explored culminating in a WYSIWYG website. But how did it all work? Insatiable curiosity began a fascinating technological journey ending up so far with home built computers, an enthusiasm for hand coding and a budding website design and development business.

Hils lives in a Nature Reserve in Norfolk UK with her partner Peter and family of Dandie Dinmont Terriers - Jemima, Boy and Natty Dread. Likes? Smiling, people, real food, boating, gardening, LVS and the joy of Dandies. Hates? Puppy Mills and Frames.

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Frieda Vanover:
Flash

Frieda lives in NW Oregon, having the once in a lifetime experience of watching Mt. St. Helens majestically erupt in 1980. Mother of 3 beautiful grown daughters, she has been happily married for 41 years to her loving and "can-do" anything husband, Price. Frieda's background is in Supervision and Human Resource Management. She became physically challenged in 1991 with Multiple Sclerosis. Having a thirst to gain knowledge, in 2001 she found an outlet for her interest in computers and computer programs through an online Flash class. Enter LVS!! Frieda says words cannot begin to express how LVS has made it possible for her to continue learning and to actively be a part of a wonderfully positive, sharing, caring group of people.

So Frieda continues to frequent the halls of LVS from her first love of FLASH Classes to PSP, FW, DW, CSS, HTML - the list goes on and the learning never ceases. There is always another class to take! Frieda particularly enjoys encouraging and helping others as they first begin their FLASH journey!

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Stephanie Baker-Thomas   |   Tim Batzer   |   Carol Bartl   |   Sally Beacham   |   Cindi Bisson
Karen Bonaker   |   Victoria Burns   |   Hilary Cheyne   |   Kathy Clark   |   Mary Cox-Pace
Lori Davis   |   Connie Densmore   |   Fredia Dillard   |   Terry Dillard   |   Aimee Evans
Niveen Fahmy   |   Bean Fairbanks   |   Roberta Falkner   |   Harold Fisher   |   Sara Froehlich
Brian Goddard   |   Shelly Goldhar   |   Sandy Hale   |   Michele Hamer   |   Pat Hinds
Deborah Dee Hoffmann   |   Cathy Jourdan   |   Rooholla Keshtkar   |   Steven Kidd   |   John Kramar
Ron Lacey   |   Coleen Lawrence   |   Phyllis List   |   Bob Long   |   Vikki Long
Peter Mayer   |   Britt McCary   |   Robert McConkey   |   Al Mierau   |   Elaina Moore-Kelly
Viki Nygaard   |   Kevin O'Connor   |   Vera Olson   |   Val Perkins   |   Becky Peters
Kimberly Rackett   |   Stephanie Reid-Taylor   |   Leo Reinfeld   |   Mary Rich   |   Jeramie Risinger
Peggi Rodgers   |   Hillary Sadur   |   Donna Sellinger   |   Sonja Shea   |   Suz Shook   |   Dia Spriggs
Frank Stepanski   |   Peggy Taranenko   |   Frieda Vanover   |   Jennifer Wagner   |   Peggy Walters

     
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