Jason Lisle
Answers in Genesis

Jim Weiss
Greathall Productions

It was a huge leap of faith as children’s audio at the time was just coming into fashion. Raised by parents who valued literature and history and with the additional influence of grandfathers who loved to tell stories to their grandsons, Jim grew up in the presence of literary and real-life characters in the tradition of oral language. Jim graduated from The University of Wisconsin, Madison and entered the sales and marketing profession. At forty years old, he realized that he was unfulfilled and needed to make a career change. With a lot of prayer and reflection, Jim and Randy decided to trust their intuition that a line of storytelling recordings told, not read would provide a wonderful way for children to appreciate classics at an early age.

This year, Jim and Randy Weiss are celebrating Greathall Productions’ 22nd Anniversary year of business
Married for 35 years, Randy and Jim reside in Charlottesville, Virginia and are the proud parents of a grown daughter.

To date, Jim is the producer and reader of 46+ Greathall storytelling recordings featuring classical literature and history; masterful and thoughtful readings of G.A. Henty Titles; unabridged readings of The Story of  the World Volumes I-IV;  Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, by Jean Lee Latham and Ralph Moody’s, Come On, Sea Biscuit, and a variety of Read-Along Book/CD Sets.

Weiss is the recipient of 85+ national awards from
The Old Schoolhouse, Mary Pride’s Practical Homeschooling Reader’s Choice, The American Library Association, Parents' Choice Foundation, The Film Advisory Board, Parents’ Guide to Children’s Media, Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, AudioFile, Creative Child Magazine, Children’s Media, and many more. Jim Weiss recordings are highly praised and recommended by leading home school journals and reviewers including Home Education Magazine, Homeschooling Today, Greenleaf Press, The Well Trained Mind, Family Times, The Old School House, and countless others.

Linda Lacour Hobar
Mystery of History

Linda Lacour Hobar is a mother, a motivator, a mentor, and a former missionary. With 17 years of homeschooling three children, 17 years of ministry with Campus Crusade for Christ, and a sense of God’s calling on her life, Linda brings enthusiasm, warmth, and inspiration to the subject of world history.  She feels the Lord gave her first the title and the vision of the series, The Mystery of History, and then the drive and passion to write it. The title reveals her heart, which is that the “mystery” of the Gospel of Jesus Christ would be made known, better understood, and more deeply appreciated through the knowledge of God’s hand in world history. Teachers, parents, and students have an “Ah hah!” experience when they see the big picture of God revealing Himself to mankind through chronological events in history. Through hands-on activities, Memory Cards, timelines, mapping exercises, audio books, and much more, students learn to grasp, retain, and retell the fabulous stories of the ages.  In it’s ninth year of circulation, The Mystery of History has been chosen by Cathy Duffy as one of the “100 Top Picks”; it has tied for first place for Mary Pride’s “Practical Homeschooling Reader Awards”; and received “the Excellence Award” from The Old Schoolhouse.

Kim Kautzer
Write Shop

Kim Kautzer, veteran homeschooler and author, loves to help parents feel more confident about teaching writing. She believes that when you combine blank paper, reluctant child, and insecure parent, you create a recipe that’s doomed to fail. With a heart to inspire and equip apprehensive parents, Kim encourages homeschoolers that teaching writing is much more objective than they think, and that with the right tools at their fingertips they can lead and motivate their struggling writers. Award-winning WriteShop, her unique and successful writing program, has been honored as one of Cathy Duffy’s 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum.

Israel Wayne
Wisdom's Gate Ministries

Israel Wayne is a homeschooled graduate who is leading his generation in defending the Christian faith and developing a Biblical worldview. He is the author of the book Homeschooling from a Biblical Worldview. Israel is a regular columnist for Home School Digest and Brush Arbor Quarterly, published by Wisdom’s Gate (www.WisdomsGate.org), where he currently serves as the Marketing Director. He is also the site editor for www.ChristianWorldview.net.

Since 1995, Israel has been a popular conference speaker, and a frequent guest on national radio programs discussing home education and cultural issues from a Biblical perspective. Israel’s family began home educating in 1978 and has been featured in national and international publications including TIME Magazine, The Arizona Republic, The Boston Globe, and the Wall Street Journal. Israel has been featured as the keynote speaker at various state homeschool conferences, with over 5,000 in attendance.

Israel and his wife Brook were joined in marriage without dating and share their testimony of God’s faithfulness on an audiobook titled, What God Has Joined Together. Israel and Brook, also a homeschool graduate, are home educating their seven young children, and Brook is a regular columnist for An Encouraging Word magazine.

Israel desires to see God’s people learn to think and live Biblically. Aiming for both the head and the heart, Israel’s goal is to challenge audiences to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ. In his words, “God’s Word applies to all areas of life. There is not one facet of our existence which does not fall under the direct claim of Lordship by Jesus Christ. This includes how we spend our money, what entertainment we consume, how we educate our children, how we use our time, etc. All of life must be understood from within a Biblical worldview.”

Scott Woodruff
HSLDA

Scott Woodruff, a follower of Christ since his conversion in 1971, earned his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia in 1980. After working for John Ashcroft, and subsequently a major regional insurance company, Scott came to work for HSLDA in 1998.
He is a member of the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States, and licensed in Virginia and Missouri. He has assisted thousands of home educating families in dealings with social workers, police officers, truant officers, principals, superintendents, and prosecuting attorneys. He has represented HSLDA members in court, and appeared before many state legislatures to fight against repressive homeschool legislation. Scott is a frequent speaker at homeschool conferences and on radio programs across the country.
Scott currently handles legal issues for HSLDA members in Virginia, Maryland, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Maine, Missouri, Iowa, South Dakota and Kansas. He also has extensive previous experience dealing with members’ legal issues in Oklahoma, Indiana, Illinois, Colorado, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Michigan.

Sheri Smith

Sheri Smith is a home school mother of six, writer, Navy Veteran, and full- time traveler.  For over three years her family has lived in a camper, criss-crossing the country. They love to jump on their ATVs, kayaks, UTV, and bikes to see the sites and meet great people.  They are part of an RV ministry called RVMaps and help build churches and campgrounds.  

Shae, Sheri's husband, suffered with severe pain for the majority of 13 years.  Through their trials, their marriage stayed strong and their children learned not only book knowledge but compassion, service, and unconditional love.

After five surgeries on the nerve in head and two on his abdomen, Shae was finally well and ready for adventure.  He felt like the Lord wanted his family to forsake the busyness of life and the obsessions with things and activities, and restore some of the time that they had lost during all his years of sickness. 

Christina McGough
Natural Health Education

Christina has been involved in student ministry with her homeschooled husband, Chris, for the past 17 years. She has been an active student of natural health for 16 years, and currently offers classes and services in various natural health modalities. Her passion to educate families on the way God created our bodies, what fuel our bodies need for our individual circumstances, and the natural resources for that fuel has led to both of her children being born at home and raised with natural health practices, herbal supplementations, and homeopathics. Christina is a Certified Natural Health Practitioner, Loomis Digestive Health Specialist, and Naturopath with an emphasis in children’s health.

Wally Long

Wally Long and his wife have home-schooled all 8 of their children. They have been homeschooling for over 24 years now. The Longs hosted and organized homeschool conventions and support groups in Springfield, MO in the early 1990's. Wally served our country as a US Marine for 10 years and worked as a  Federal Correctional Officer for over 20 years, a career from which he is now happily   retired. Wally currently assists in the education of the  remaining children. In his "free" time, Wally uses his gifts to preach, teach, write, give motivational speeches and teach Public Speaking.

Tom Clark
Video Text Interactive

Thomas Clark is a life-long teacher of Mathematics and   Science with 35 years experience at all levels, from elementary through adult. He began his career with twelve years of classroom teaching, including a full year of graduate study, and then served for five years as the State Mathematics Supervisor for the Indiana Department of  Education. In subsequent years, he was commissioned to author several mathematical resources for the Houghton-Mifflin Publishing Co. and for the Addison Wesley Publishing Co. 
His unique awareness of the needs of both teachers and students is a combination that helped him win the IUPUI Chancellor’s Award, the Purdue Chancellor’s Award, and the Purdue School of Science Faculty Teaching Award. 
He is now president of VideoText Interactive, a company that specializes in bringing the textbook to life through technology.

Jay Barber
Missouri Department of Conservation