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 close to 16 years ago. In that time he has taken the photos for more than 150 issues, 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
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 exploring Flamenco and Romany fusion styles. She lives on beautiful Denman Island with her family and pets.
Ryan Parton
Ryan Parton is a freelance writer and the proprietor of Ryan Parton Writing Solutions. A graduate with distinction of Concordia University’s School of Journalism in Montreal, Ryan relocated to the Comox Valley in 2002 and has no desire to ever live anywhere else. Ryan is well travelled and has a keen sense of adventure, although his idea of adventure is gradually shifting from traversing the wilds of exotic locales to overcoming the daily challenges of raising a toddler. He lives in Courtenay with his wife Sarah and his son Spencer.
Arran has a profusion of interests and writing about these experiences always provides her with a new perspective. Arran is especially passionate about environmental innovation, mountaineering, healthy living and social issues. She often loses herself in her research and resurfaces hours later amazed, enraged, motivated and hungry. Arran has an MA in English from the University of Aberdeen, where she organized her time so she could work part time, edit the university paper, vice captain the triathlon team, compete in triathlons all over the UK, organize climbing and cycling trips in Europe, sea-kayak, volunteer and attend classes full time. After graduating, she moved to the Comox Valley where she worked as an English instructor at the local college. She now works for a web design company, runs a professional organizing business, spends time with her daughter Sholeh, teaches running clinics with ELM, and spends any time left over with friends and nature.
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.