NOTES TO TROOPS ON VETERANS DAY
[November 8, 2009, ALBANY, OR] Leader Garden Press is joining publishers across the nation in an effort called Books to Soldiers. Local author/publisher Debra Slover and illustrator Darlene Warner are donating copies of their adult book U.N.I.Q.U.E.: Growing the Leader Within. “Many soldiers never receive mail from their families so any communication is greatly appreciated. Finding a note inside a book may be what makes their day,” according the instructions they received.
The two are inviting the public to join them and drop off a note to include with the books at the Third Avenue businesses sponsors “Celebrating courage, service, and leadership” events on Veterans Day.
Charlie’s Rhythm & Brews coffee house at 229 Third Ave. SW will host Slover and Warner for a book sale and signing from 8:30 to 11:00 a.m. Free with the purchase of each book is a patriotic or character face painting from their new release U.N.I.Q.U.E. KIDS: Growing My Leadership Garden. Additional face paintings will be $3.00 each.
Following the Veteran’s Day Parade, the two will be at the Oregon Language Center, 237 Third Ave. SW, at 1:30 p.m. Debra will provide a free informational session for schools and non-profits about the service-learning Cultivation Grants made available through the Leadership Garden Fund. Darlene will teach some basic drawing skills to kids who can then draw something special about the day’s theme to include with the books from them.
At 3:30 p.m., a drawing will be held at p’shaws, 243 Third Ave. SW, for a free Leadership Garden Legacy Tool Kit for adults. Details of the events and characters are available at the businesses or online at the www.leadershipgardenlegacy.com events page.
Contacts:
Pam Wendler-Shaw, Director
Oregon Language Center
Phone: 541-928-8975
For an interview, contact:
Debra Slover
Leadership Garden Enterprises LLC
Web: www.LeadershipGardenLegacy.com
Email: info@leadershipgardenlegacy.com
Phone: 541-928-2232
About the Author:
A graduate of Oregon State University, Debra began her career in teaching and later became director of a statewide organization promoting student responsibility around driving, alcohol abuse, and other wellness issues. She then began her own consulting, training, and publishing firm, Leadership Garden Enterprises LLC. As an author and blogger, she has written several books, a book chapter for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and numerous articles in both professional and general-interest publications. A mother to two biological and three blended-family children, and grandmother of six, she lives with her husband in Albany, Oregon.
About the Illustrator:
A commercial artist and certified composite artist, Darlene has taught art classes and been a newspaper-advertising artist and photographer. After relocating to the northwest and working in social work for a decade, she was drawn back to her passion of fine art. Darlene was the ideal choice for Debra to create her Leadership Garden empowerment books and the children’s version of U.N.I.Q.U.E. KIDS: Growing My Leadership Garden. Written for 8-12 year olds, there are 77 beautiful watercolor illustrations in the book. Her family’s first Border collie, Bizzy Bee, was the visual inspiration for Annabelle in the book. A mother of one, Darlene lives with her husband and son in Lebanon, Oregon.
