At the 2002 conference I met Kenny, and I was surprised to find that he lived less than twenty-five miles from me. We have become good friends in the last year-and-a-half. Since both of us had driven to that conference, we decided to carpool this year.
Once again, I had the pleasure of meeting Andrew K. Stone. Andrew is a writer and has two novels currently available. I was introduced to Andrew through a friend at the local Tennessee chapter of the TSA. We corresponded via e-mail for over a year, during which time he helped me a great deal with publishing Getting Personal. We first met when he was traveling across Tennessee promoting his second novel. It was a pleasure to see him again at this year’s conference. If you haven’t read his novels, then you are missing out on his wonderful gift as a writer. Andrew’s talent is just one more example of the positive side of having Tourette syndrome. His two novels, All Flowers Die and Disappearing Into View can be found on Amazon or visit his Web site.
I also had the pleasure of meeting, for the first time, Becky Ottinger of the Joshua Center, and social worker and author Jack Southwick. Becky's story is incredible, and Jack has remarkably keen insight into helping children with neurological disorders . Please visit the Joshua Center Web site to find out more about this wonderful organization.
Saturday night’s banquet featured an array of performers, all of whom have Tourette syndrome. At the banquet we saw Kellie Haines perform. Kellie is an actress, comedian, singer, and ventriloquist. She entertained us with her puppets Magrau and Kamilla. She performs for children throughout Canada and the United States and is in the process of developing a pilot for a television show on Canadian television. Please visit her Web site to learn more about Kellie and her amazing talents.
We also had the pleasure of meeting singer Scott Anderson. Scott is a dynamic performer who writes and performs Christian music. Why Scott isn’t wowing audiences in churches and other venues is beyond me. This guy is incredibly talented. If you would like to contact Scott to inquire about bookings, please call 800-863-8668.
Rick Fowler also entertained the diners with his amazing guitar prowess. Another talented singer and songwriter, I often wonder why his isn’t a household name.
Most importantly, Laura and I got the chance to revisit the place where we met in October of 2002.
Please enjoy the following photos that were taken during the conference.
|
Click here to see photos from the 2004 conference.
|
|