Michael Smith presented with Faculty Award for Commitment to Teaching
Campbell University near Raleigh selected Michael Ray Smith, a trainer
for MTI in Manila, to be its teacher of the year for his commitment to
teaching. A professor of communication studies, the Faculty Development
Committee selected Smith from 216 full-time professors from six schools
including its law school, pharmacy school and divinity school. The
university will recognize him in late April at a ceremony. Smith and his
wife, Barbara, have two grown children and live in Lillington, 30 miles
south of Raleigh.-- Michael Ray Smith, March 26, 2012
Marlene Legaspi-Munar authors book for teens about friendship and textbooks covering values education
Marlene Legaspi-Munar’s book for young people about online and offline friendship titled "Add Mo ‘Ko as Friend: Your Link to Real Relationships" was released last December 2011. Because of the book’s good reception, another 3,000 copies were reprinted by its publisher OMF Literature only one month after its publication. Following closely the publication of her book for teens, another two textbooks also authored by Marlene were also published by Glad Tidings Publishing. These textbooks titled LIFE, or short for Living a Life of Fullness and Excellence, are expected to be used in some private schools for their values education or Christian Life subjects.
Marlene is also currently serving as Curriculum Technical Coordinator for the curriculum revision project of Compassion International Philippine office. She mentors lesson plan writers and editors for this project.
Find "Add Mo 'Ko" on Facebook.
– Marlene Legaspi-Munar; http://marlenemunar.webs.com/ March 26, 2012
Kent Wilson active in international publishing consulting
Kent Wilson was involved in both book and magazine publishing for over 21 years, leading NavPress Publishing group during that time as well as running a publishing foundation started by his grandfather. In 2008 Kent left NavPress to pursue a passion of his, coaching business owners and nonprofit executives. In his coaching, Kent meets monthly with executives to help them find strategic focus in their leadership and responsibilities running their business or organization. Kent loves the opportunity to now work with those who run businesses after 30 years of running businesses himself.Kent still keeps involved in international publishing, serving as a consultant and executive coach to non-U.S. Christian publishing companies via Skype and occasional trips on location. He loves remaining active on the Magazine Training International Board of Directors and has chaired that board since its founding.
– Kent Wilson; March 22, 2012
Anne Elhajoui is excited about the release of Disciple!, a new Navigators publication
Anne Elhajoui recently began work on a new publication with The Navigators. Disciple! is an 8-page quarterly publication distributed to all of The Navigator's donors as a replacement of that month's One-to-One.
The magazine will reprint some of the classic DJ articles in addition
to current stories of discipleship, most often with Navigator staff.The eMag is available at http://issuu.com/navpress/docs/disciple_spring2012/1.
-- Anne Elhajoui, Disciple!; March 9, 2012
Greg Breeding of Journey Group joins team of U.S. Postal Service art directors
Greg Breeding, co-founder and creative director of Journey Group, Inc, has joined the United States Postal Service team of art directors. Breeding co-founded Journey Group in 1992. The creative firm, located in Charlottesville, Virginia, is a business affiliate member of EPA, and serves several EPA members including Worldwide Challenge, EFCA, and World Vision. The U.S. Postal Service has been a client of Journey Group since 2006.
Breeding’s first stamp as art director for the U.S. Postal Service is titled The War of 1812: USS Constitution, and is scheduled to come out in 2012.
“I’m interested in creating art for the public good,” Breeding says, “and honoring a person or event on a stamp highlights and celebrates what’s positive in our culture.”
For more information, see Breeding’s biography on the U.S. Postal Service website, Beyond the Perf (http://www.beyondtheperf.com/biography/greg-breeding), or visit Journey Group’s website (www.journeygroup.com).
–Posted: January 18, 2012
Estera Wieja joins International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem
Estera Wieja now lives in Jerusalem, Israel. In the fall 2010, she moved from her native Poland where she was managing editor of Nasze Inspiracje to join the media department of the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem (ICEJ). "The Lord is so good," said Wieja. "I've been praying for God to open doors for me to somehow serve the people of Israel, but I did not expect this!"One of the goals of the organization is to educate Christians around the world so that they have a better understanding of what goes on in Israel. The media department sends out ICEJ Daily News by email, publishes a ministry bulletin called Word from Jerusalem and co-publishes a magazine (Jerusalem Post Christian Edition) with the Jerusalem Post, the biggest newspaper in English in the Middle East. ICEJ also has a radio program, Front Page Jerusalem. Wieja serves as a staff writer and a reporter at the media department, writing articles and news briefs for said publications, as well as interviews Israeli believers for the radio.
The move has been challenging for Wieja but rewarding. "I'm really enjoying it and it's definitely a new type of challenge for me; that is working more in the sphere of politics and international relations, rather than Christian lifestyle and Church life."
Living in Jerusalem has helped Wieja understand the Middle East affairs better, but especially all matters relating to Israel. She finds it is very important for every Christian around the world to know what the situation in Israel is and why it matters to God. She is optimizing her time in Israel and spends much of her free time studying the land's history and politics, as well as the Hebrew language.
–Jolene Robinson, Magazine Training International; April 11, 2011
Gary Gnidovic joins MTI board of directors
Gary Gnidovic, design director at Christianity Today
International, was named as a member of the MTI board of directors in 2010. "Gary brings a wealth of experience and insight into the challenges facing magazine publishers today," said Sharon Mumper, president of MTI. "We are pleased to have him on the board."Gnidovic designs and art directs Christianity Today magazine and oversees Books and Culture as well as the CT Media Group. He has worked in magazine design with Christianity Today International for 22 years serving as art director for Christianity Today, Books and Culture,Today’s Christian Woman, and Marriage Partnership.
Gnidovic has taught design and photography courses for Magazine Training International in Romania, Ukraine, Croatia, Russia, and the Czech Republic.
–Jolene Robinson, Magazine Training International; February 8, 2011