Avi | Dr. Colorado - Tom Noel | Bob Wendover | Michael Willhoite

Avi was born in 1937, in New York City. It was his twin sister who gave him the name Avi, since she was unable or unwilling to use the name his parents had given him. Ever since, Avi has been his name.

Despite being born into a family of writers Avi was not drawn to writing until he was in high school, when he decided to become a writer in the face of constantly being told he could not write.

At first he chose the theatre writing as his focus. Not until he had children of his own did he turn to writing for young people. His first book for kids was THINGS THAT SOMETIMES HAPPEN, which was published in 1970, a book which will be reissued later this year.

Over the years Avi has been steadily writing, so that his fiftieth book, CRISPIN; THE CROSS OF LEAD is about to be published. His range-from picture books to young adult titles, from graphic novels to historical fiction, from fantasy to mystery, has earned him many awards. Among the awards are two Newbery Honors, two Horn Book awards, the O'Dell award, and a Christopher Award. He has also won numerous children's choice awards as well.

In 1997 Avi founded Breakfast Serials™, a program which has gone far to restore good children's literature to our nation's newspapers.

Though he has lived in many places in the United States, as well as in Europe, these days Avi lives with his wife, Linda, a business woman, and their children in Denver, Colorado.

Thomas J. "Dr. Colorado" Noel, a Professor of History and Director of Public History, Preservation & Colorado Studies at CU-Denver, is the author of numerous books, articles and columns. Tom is a graduate of CU-Denver and CU-Boulder, where his mother (a psychiatrist) and grandmother (a teacher) also completed graduate work.

Among Tom's recent works are Buildings of Colorado (Oxford Univ. Press, 1997) and Colorado: A Liquid History & Tavern Guide to the Highest State (Fulcrum, 1999). Tom's newest books, published in December, are The Montclair Historic District (co-authored with William J. Hansen) & Boulder County: A Pictorial History (co-authored with Dan W. Corson).

Tom teaches Denver, Colorado, U.S. West, and Public History courses at CU-Denver, as well as conducting tours of the highest state and the Mile High City for the Smithsonian Institute, the Colorado History Museum, the Denver Museum of Natural History, & Historic Denver, Inc.

For more information, please see Dr. Colorado's Short Vita at http://www.coloradowebsites.com/dr-colorado/webvita.doc

From Ricky & Lucy to Beavis & Butthead: Managing the New Work Force

How does a "fifty-something" lead a "twenty-something?" How does a "twenty-something" lead a "fifty-something?" Today's employees are far different from those of the past. To thrive in this new world, you must understand the values and attitudes of both new and experienced workers.

From Ricky & Lucy to Beavis & Butthead helps you to take a realistic, yet amusing look at how the generations relate. Discover the new challenges and opportunities when people, values, trends, and technologies all come together in your organization.

The first 500 registrants for this presentation will receive a free supporting materials packet from GenTrends.

His clients include AT&T, Kinko's, IBM, State Farm Insurance, Super 8 Motels, Kaiser Permanente and a host of other household names.

Bob is also a Baby Boomer. He was born in 1955, across the street from that icon of the 70's, John Travolta. Being a Boomer, Bob was around for the defining moments of the era . . . the assassination of JFK, Woodstock, and the wedding of Tiny Tim to Miss Vicky.

He has witnessed the growth of the computer age, the landing of men on the moon and the marketing triumph of . . . the Thighmaster!

In his keynote "Daddy & Frank & Me," Mr. Willhoite will give a short account of his life, the history of how he became an artist, and how he came to write children's books with a gay slant. He'll discuss the publication history of "Daddy's Roommate" along with the challenges to the book, and will comment on the value of libraries and the massive contribution of librarians to the defense of the First Amendment. At the end he'll take questions from the audience.

In addition to his posters and freelance artwork, Mr. Willhoite has written and/or illustrated 16 books. His first was Now for My Next Trick, a collection of his cartoons from The Washington Blade. Two collections of caricatures from the same newspaper have followed: Members of the Tribe and Willhoite's Hollywood.

In 1989 his publisher first established a line of books for children with gay and lesbian parents, the first being Willhoite's Daddy's Roommate, which quickly encountered censorship problems. Daddy's Roommate has been one of the most frequently challenged books in the United States in recent years. It was followed by a sequel, Daddy's Wedding, published in the spring of 1996. In 1994, Daddy's Roommate was published in Germany as Papas Freund.

In between came other children's books: Families, a coloring book (also translated into Icelandic); The Entertainer, a story told entirely in illustrations, and Uncle What-Is-It is Coming to Visit!!, which was also adapted for the stage (produced at Speakeasy Stage in Boston in the spring of 1997.) He has illustrated numerous other books.

In January of 1989 a selection of his caricatures received their first gallery showing, at the Michael Himovitz Gallery in Sacramento, CA. This was sponsored by Jane Fonda as an AIDS benefit. In addition to his work as a graphic artist for the U.S. Government from 1973 to 2001, Mr. Willhoite has worked steadily as a freelance artist.