Infocus Magazine
Contributors
PHOTOGRAPHY
Boomer Jerritt
Boomer is a commercial photographer in the Comox Valley and has been photographing for InFocus Magazine since its inception almost 20 years ago. In that time he has taken the photos for more than 175 issues, life shooting a wide variety of photographs covering all aspects of life in the Comox Valley. Boomer’s range of clientele includes not only a regional flavour but also provincial and national editorial magazines and tourism related imagery. To view Boomer’s stock site and commercial portfolio visit:
WRITERS
Kenzie Andrews
Kenzie Andrews started her writing career in the Comox Valley as a student journalist and editor for G.P. Vanier’s The Breezeway. Aside from getting Kenzie her first paid writing job writing for what was then the very new InFocus Magazine, those years in the high school journalism room taught her there is a story almost anywhere. And it’s the writer’s job to find that story and share it with everyone else.
A university education and many years in the city later, Kenzie is back in the Valley as one of the self-employed. She brings with her more than a decade of experience as a communications professional. She specializes in community engagement work, with a focus on First Nations communities involved in the BC treaty process. Various other organizations with a mandate to inform and educate their audiences round out her client roster. At the heart of her work is finding the story that needs sharing, with the goal of fostering community change and encouraging public participation. Writing still makes up the biggest portion of her work, and it has been a pleasure to come back to her roots sharing the stories of the Comox Valley and writing for InFocus Magazine.
Debbie Bowman
Debbie Bowman is a freelance writer and Registered Holistic Nutritionist and who moved from Vancouver to the Valley in 2010. “We could have moved anywhere,” says Debbie, “but after a couple years of research and soul searching, we chose the Comox Valley – Cumberland in particular. The Valley has everything we want in a community: vibrancy, nature, and tons of fun and interesting people.”
Debbie writes regularly for InFocus Magazine. “I love to write about food, health, and travel,” says Debbie. “I also enjoy writing about the community my family has chosen to call home. The Comox Valley is a fascinating place brimming with stories waiting to be told.” Debbie began her writing career a few years ago when she started writing regularly for West Coast Families Magazine in Vancouver. “We traveled a lot and writing articles about our adventures seemed a good way to share our experiences with others. My most memorable writing experience was when I read a letter to the editor following an article I wrote on how we traveled around New Zealand as a family. The letter explained how the family had chosen to travel to New Zealand because of my article. It was astonishing to me to think that something I wrote could actually cause others to experience something, go somewhere, or change a behaviour – that was just amazing.”
Debbie and her family enjoy mountain biking, rock climbing, sea kayaking and trail running. She has run three marathons and has also enjoyed three 24-hour adventure races with her favourite race partner, her husband Andrew. She has two children, Amanda and Alex, aged 15 and 14, who she used to encourage up the hills around Cumberland… and now she can’t keep up to them.
Laura Busheikin
Laura Busheikin loves writing for local media because it connects her to community. “Every time I write for InFocus, I learn things about where I live, I meet great people, and I see that the articles help build community by sharing local stories,” she says. “As a writer, I am helping weave the web of communication that keeps us strong, vibrant, and connected.”
Laura has been writing professionally for more than 20 years, starting out as co-editor of the Ubyssey Newspaper, progressing through freelance magazine writing and editing, and then moving into a long stint working in the non-profit sector. As well as magazine articles, she writes funding proposals, press releases, and other promotional copy. Laura is also a yoga teacher and an avid dancer, currently loving Flamenco and Romany fusion styles. She lives on beautiful Denman Island with her family and pets.
Ian Lidster
Ian Lidster is a long time writer and newspaper journalist. Currently working as a freelancer, he began as a columnist for the old Comox District Free Press (the Green Sheet) in 1977. At that paper he was also a reporter and ultimately assistant editor until it folded in 1994. He then worked at the Comox Valley Echo as columnist, reporter and assistant editor. He has been a regular contributor to the Victoria Times-Colonist and has also freelanced to the Vancouver Sun, Vancouver Province, the Sunday Times of London (England) and was a columnist for the Great Yarmouth Mercury in Great Yarmouth, England in 1981.
Ian has won a number of awards for his writing, including Canadian Columnist of the Year, and British Columbia Columnist of the Year, and the BC Attorney General’s Award for Crime Prevention Writing in 1999. Ian is a former secondary teacher of English and History, and is also a certified addictions counsellor and continues to work in that field part time. Married to Wendy, Ian’s hobbies include reading, writing, painting, and especially travelling and he has a passionate love for the Hawaiian island of Kauai.
Terri Perrin
Terri Perrin is an award-winning freelancer writer with more than 25 years industry experience and thousands of published articles to her credit. She is proud to be a long-standing member of the Professional Writers’ Association of Canada.
“I have written for dozens of publications and covered a wide range of topics,” says Terri. “I love, however, to write profiles on people, places and events. I consider it privilege to be able to meet people in my community and ‘tell stories’ that highlight their special achievements and move others to take positive actions. InFocus Magazine is a perfect fit for me, giving me the opportunity to fulfill this passion.”
Terri’s areas of special interest include responsible pet ownership, the human/companion animal bond, horses, travel and the grief process. She is also an avid gardener – struggling to learn the names of all of the spectacular plants on Vancouver Island – and a certified Feng Shui Consultant. Her first book, Building a Sustainable Future – Canadian Hydro Developers’ First Twenty Years, was published in March 2009.
A recent transplant from Calgary, Terri, her husband Ron, their dog and two cats now call Courtenay home.
Kendra Quince
Kendra Quince loves to write. Whether it is quietly for her own creative process, or professionally as a way to connect people, the lure of the story has always been there. Kendra has been writing for over 15 years now, and has been involved in a number of creative projects. From writing a family gardening column for Our Big Earth, through creating a youth zine as part of an outreach literacy project, to editing and producing promotional material for local businesses, Kendra has enjoyed using her writing to take on new ventures.
Kendra was born in Victoria, and has lived in Toronto, Regina, Jasper, Edmonton and Guelph – where she attained a degree in English. She is also a certified Waldorf Kindergarten Teacher, a Chartered Herbalist, and a self proclaimed Ocean Gypsy. In her free time Kendra enjoys being on the beach, in the water, in the forest, dancing, and gardening. She loves exploring nature with her two children, their dog, and sometimes even their cat. Writing for InFocus enables Kendra to continue learning about, and sharing, the stories of this vibrant community that she has called home for the past 11 years.