The 2016 National Society of Newspaper Columnists presents the following new board to two-year positions:
President — Lisa Smith Molinari
Vice President — Mike Morin
Director of Media — Bonnie Jean Feldkamp
Scholarship Chair — Mike Leonard
Leonard was re-election. Molinari had been vice president. Ben Pollock is leaving as media director after serving several board positions. Jerry Zezima will be immediate past president.
Board elections took place during the annual membership meeting, 9-10:30 a.m. PDT Sunday, June 26, 2015, at the Hotel Angeleno in Los Angeles at the conclusion of the society’s annual conference. The term for these offices runs July 1, 2016, to June 30, 2018.
Lisa Smith Molinari
Lisa Smith Molinari writes the award-winning blog and syndicated column, The Meat & Potatoes of Life, which currently appears in Stars and Stripes, The Huffington Post and approximately 20 military and civilian newspapers nationwide. Her essays on parenting, marriage and military life have also been published in The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Providence Journal, World Net Daily and many other publications. Lisa served the previous term as vice president of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. She is a 23-year Navy spouse and mother of three, and her family is currently stationed in Newport, RI. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook.
Mike Morin
Since leaving his 43-year radio career the day before the NSNC’s Washington conference two years ago, Mike Morin has made it his mission in life to reinvent himself. He still writes a column and magazine features, and he lectures frequently with stories from his memoir, Fifty Shades of Radio. He’s hosted a TV food show and is a spokesperson for a group of life plan communities. Since last June, his iTunes podcast, RESET: 40 is the New Happy, has featured 45 people who have chucked the 9-to-5 corporate word and re-invented themselves in ways they never would have imagined. Retirement is not in Mike’s vocabulary. Find Mike online at Mike Morin Media.
Bonnie Jean Feldkamp
Bonnie Jean Feldkamp has worked as a freelance writer since 2001 publishing service journalism as well as personal essays. She specializes in topics relevant to kids and families. Her weekly blog for new and expectant moms is on the retail site www.MilkandBaby.com. Her monthly parenting blog is on CincinnatiFamilyMagazine.com. Bonnie contributes features to Cincinnati Family, Lead Cincinnati and Venue magazines. Her work has appeared in The New York Times and Brain, Child Magazine as well as regional parenting publications. Bonnie is a member of Parent Media Association and the National Association of Memoir Writers. She is a wife and mother of three, writing from her home office in Louisville, Kentucky, where PJs are considered professional attire.
Mike Leonard has been a member of NSNC since 1985 and has served as president, vice president, scholarship chair and at-large board member. He was a general interest columnist for the Bloomington (Indiana) Herald-Times for 28 years and currently writes a column for Bloomington’s Bloom Magazine, for which he is senior associate editor. He also teaches journalism classes as an adjunct lecturer in the Indiana University Media School and will be teaching a course on column and opinion writing in the fall of 2016.
In a related personnel matter, Ned Hickson will be NSNC’s membership chair as an interim, through June 2017, following the resignation of Amanda Beam. Beam cited professional obligations. The board approved Ned in an email vote in April. Ned is an editor and humor columnist for Siuslaw News in Florence, Oregon. His column is syndicated through News Media Corp. Ned is a volunteer firefighter with Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue in Florence. He’ll assume the role recruiting and welcoming members and promoting the society following the #NSNC16 Conference in Los Angeles.
• • •
This piece first was published in the July 2016 issue of The Columnist, the monthly membership newsletter of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists.
