This month we wish to shine the Profile Spotlight on one of our dedicated board members, Jeannie Smith, who contributes in two very important ways:  1. As the secretary of the board, 2. As the liaison for School District 51.  She creates the Minutes for the monthly meeting and takes care of any miscellaneous correspondence that may arise.  Jeannie is the perfect liaison with her ready smile and openly warm and friendly nature.  We appreciate the time and energy Jeannie offers up so willingly.

Jeannie spent her first 4 years in Wray, Colorado and went to Kindergarten in Oakley, Kansas. She claims that she loved to read so much that she spent most of her childhood with her head in a book. The rest of her life has been spent in Grand Junction. When asked what were her passions she responded: " I'm passionate about my family... I have four children: Madison 25, Austin 23, Carson 14 and Delani 11.  My husband is a commander with GJPD.  We love to go on hikes and camping and we hope to learn to ski this year."

To backtrack a few years in personal history Jeannie spent 20 years working at Albertson's in almost every capacity with her last eight years working as the bookkeeper, as well as, doing payroll and HR.  Jeannie seems to have a natural talent for wearing multiple hats in a variety of settings. 

 She graduated from Mesa State College in 1998, with a degree in History. Something most of us did not know about her was the work she completed for her senior thesis was published in the Journal of the Western Slope. If you enjoy Grand Junction history, you might enjoy reading "Walter Walker and his fight against Socialism." 

Jeannie has been employed by District 51 for the past five years in the Department of Communications and Community Partnerships.  Her main responsibility is coordinating the Volunteer Program, but she also does work in several other departments as needed.

She has traveled to Florida, Washington D.C., Tennessee, and most of the Western states.  As a history buff, Jeannie really liked seeing Washington D.C. and all of the historical places she had only read about as a child. She also enjoys visiting family in California and going to the "happiest place on earth, hee hee Disneyland."

Her favorite hobbies include scrapbooking and crafts.  "My oldest son can never move back home because his room has been turned into a scrapbooking/craft room!" 

Jeannie's introduction to Spellbinders came at the same time that she started working for District 51.  Her younger kids were coming home with stories about these wonderful storytellers that came to their classroom at Appleton once a month. One day she visited Appleton and for the first time heard Mary Ann Janson tell a story and was blown away!  She was hooked, and now loves being on the Spellbinder Board to support the efforts of this vibrant organization!  

In Jeannie's own words:  "I would like to thank all the devoted Spellbinders for their time and dedication to the students of District 51.  It is a huge commitment to tell each month in multiple classrooms and we are so grateful there are such creative people willing to do it.  Being on the board, I see how much effort and preparation is put into the fun stories you tell and I love to see the passion that each spellbinder has for their craft."  Jeannie we are also grateful for your generous gifts of time and expertise!