My resume

Lisa Kohlbrenner     multimedia journalist and editor 

EXPERIENCE 

Assignment editor  FOX 30/CBS 47 Action News, Jacksonville, Fla.  August 2012-June 2015Runs assignment desk, pitches stories, maintains contact with outside sources, police and fire departments, assigns news units. Helps department heads to coordinate production activities. Help to write and edit online stories and social posts. Books interviews and satellite time as needed. Answers viewer calls, sends nightly daysheet, tracks court case, events, government meetings.

Copy editor   Times-Union, Jacksonville, Fla.   June 2000-July 2001, Feb. 2003-Sept. 2011
*Print duties: Edited news, feature and business stories for grammar, style, content, and consistency. Wrote headlines and photo captions. Served as a chief and/or pressroom liaison several times a week, working directly with pre-press and printing staff to ensure deadlines were met.  Regularly designed seven community news zoned sections in addition to editing the stories. Wrote stories for print and blogs for Jacksonville.com.
**Non-print duties: Posted stories to and moderated comments on Jacksonville.com; managed five-person TV team in coordination with news partner First Coast News; served as on-air talent for 11:15 p.m. “Tomorrow’s Headlines Tonight” live TV segment; read and produced weekly radio teases for WJCT 89.9 FM.  

Radio host/intern    WHLG-FM Coast 101.3, Stuart, Fla.                                        February 2002- February 2003
Served as on-air personality. Voice-tracked the midnight to 5 a.m. shift. 

News copy chief     The Stuart News, Stuart, Fla.                                            July 2001-February 2003
Served as nightside editor on all stories and as liaison with pressroom to ensure deadlines were met. Edited stories for grammar, style, content and more. Wrote headlines and other display text.  Designed section fronts.
Edited stories, wrote headlines, designed section fronts and designed inside pages for 50,000-circulation daily.

Journalist     Palatka Daily News,         Palatka, Fla.                       October 1998-July 1999
Served as reporter/photographer/copy editor/website editor for daily paper serving 20,000  people. 

Writing samples: http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/lisa-kohlbrenners-blog  OR  lisakohlbrenner.blogspot.com

Education and training 

University of Florida, bachelor of science degree in journalism, 1998
Newsplex in Columbia, S.C., convergence training. Week of training on various media, May 2003

It's been an emotional roller-coaster of a week

This week has been a very difficult one for me, emotionally. Not only am I really missing Florida but I feel like my patience is being tried from every angle. If this is a test, I am not sure I am going to pass. I know there are people out there who have it harder than I do (I'm praying for Lafayette right now), I get that, but sometimes you just have to get it all out and this week is my pity party.

I had two job rejections this week and probably a few more I haven;t even heard of yet or won't hear of because the company doesn't have time to send replies. We also got a lot of our bills from the Florida property and they were a lot higher than we expected (Realtors left lights and water on in the home and we are the ones who end up having to pay). We have zero income right now and no money. I do not know where the funds will come from to pay these bills or the ones we have coming from our time here. I am about to file for temporary assistance (when I said we had no money I meant it) but I'd rather not go that route. I read the long, drawn-out application and I don't want to spend half a day in the office filing it out and waiting for the money to come. I have faith.

I have never missed Florida more than I have this week. I miss having a house and job and two cars and food and our own bedrooms and a backyard for the dog to run in and all my connections and the free pool and all the fun, free stuff to do. Everything is more expensive here. Oh and I really miss the beaches! Our new community won't have a pool or amenities center. Our new house costs twice as much as our Florida one and it's about the same size. We sold one of our cars before we left so we are down to just 1: our 2007 Honda Pilot with hundreds of thousands of miles on it and a bad leak that we can afford to repair.

Now we find out Ben doesn't even have a school he can attend. DH was hoping he could take the boys to his school with him but 6th grade is full. Ben is on the wait list for a nice k-8 here but we haven't heard back yet. DH doesn't want him going to the school our community is zoned for because it has a below average rating. I really wish we were back in Florida, everything was so much easier and cheaper back there.

On a positive note, I did get 1 phone interview and unrelated, I got invited to visit CBS Denver next week and meet some of the staff. I am excited for that. It's not a job interview by any means but it will be cool to be back in a newsroom again, however briefly. It's a step in the right direction as I try to start over.

Also, one of the fun things we did get to do this week was the free admission day at the Denver Botanic Gardens. It's one of the top-ranked botanic gardens in the U.S. and it's easy to see why. The weather was great for a tiptoe through the tulips and watching the bunnies and bees move among the various flowers and plants. There were quite a few new additions since our last visit many years ago and the kids had fun checking everything out.  They also have some great concerts there this summer!  I recommend stopping by if you are ever in Denver.

Here's hoping something new blooms for me soon! Fingers crossed ...

Back from hiatus!!!

Hello again!

OK, so I have been HORRIBLE about keeping the blog up to date this year (like I said I would) but in my defense, this Mom On The Go HAS been very busy. Allow me to explain.

In June, I quit my assignment editor job at Action News, sold my Jacksonville home (the boys' first home, where they grew up) and moved to the Denver area: 2 kids, 1 dog, no money, no home, and no job prospects (not for a lack of searching). The 3-day drive out here was rough, the month-plus of job searching and house hunting has been brutal. The weather has been hotter here than we suspected. This native Floridian misses Jacksonville almost every day. But I am adjusting and it helps that my best friend was already out here and she is just a short drive away if I ever need to talk.

However, more than a month later and I am still without a job.I apply for at least two jobs every day and I have had a couple of interviews but so far no luck. Even so, the available openings are not for positions I really want. Despite my age, I really want to be a TV host. I don't have much experience in it but it's always been a dream of mine. I always tell people I want Mario Lopez's job on "Extra."

So after much soul-searching (and talking to a friend who says that even though we are thousands of miles apart he can help me make a demo reel) I am going to pursue my passion. I know I have a lot against me: I am a bit late to the game in more ways than one, I don't have any current work and my old radio and video reports are on VHS or cassette tape. (Can anyone out there help me digitize them please?) But that same friend filled my head with the idea that my dream is STILL possible and I know anything is possible. I'm going to push forward and see what happens.

I am going to start blogging regularly so check back often. I'm going to find my old work and post it and create new videos. I've created a new Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/LisaGKohlbrenner) and a new YouTube channel will be coming soon too! Please let me know the kind of video topics that you would be interested in watching as I am looking for ideas on what interests viewers. Also, I am looking for any help I can get financial or otherwise (We have zero money right now). If you know anyone in Colorado who can help me launch my career or even just help spread the word and get my name out there, please let me know. You can email me anytime at lisa@kohlbrenner.com.

I appreciate you reading this and any advice or support you can provide. If nothing else, please keep me in your prayers. Thank you.

                                      (I will miss my time and my friends at Action News very much!)

The blog is back for 2015!

One of the resolutions I made earlier this year was to revive this Mom on the Go  blog. What better way to do that than with my encounter with Alan Thicke!

I have enjoyed much of his work ever since I was a child and he was playing Jason Seaver on Growing Pains. Among other things,  I used to watch Thicke of the Night and enjoyed 1987's TV move Not Quite Human where he played a scientist dad who created a human-like android that he tries to pass off as his son.

The actor and I have had exchanges on social media in the recent past-after he posted a photo of his knee surgery and I tweeted him a "Get Well Soon" message he replied with a comment about cupcakes I had made (I had Tweeted a photo of cupcakes I had made for co-workers).

Long story short, I recently Tweeted at him about wanting to meet him once I found out he was going to be in Jacksonville as host of the touring Dancing Pros Live show. He at some point Tweeted to me "Show me that smile again," a reference to the opening line of the "Growing Pains" theme song.

Some time on Sunday I get a DM from his Twitter account asking me if I need media passes to the Jacksonville performance. I am out of town and unable to attend (and unable to DM back) so I Tweet @ him my reply, including my email address for future contact. Later, I get an email with a name and number of someone I can text for tickets. 

By the time I got home from our out of town trip, the show was over. I assumed I had missed my chance to meet him but was too exhausted from the day to care much. I sent a polite thank you email and my apologize that I could not attend and really wish that I could have met him.

Just before 9:30 on Monday morning, I get an email, again from the Alan Thicke account: "departs Omni lobby at 10;30. can get photo then"  What? I can't believe what I am reading? Is this even legit? Everything else seemed legit. Then the panic sets in. I have about an hour to shower, get dressed and ready and drive downtown from my home one county down and about 20-30 minutes away.

I kept thinking I would lever make it but I pulled into the parking lot next to the Omni Jax downtown with time to spare. I walked inside and used the bathroom and checked myself in the mirror. Then I waited in the lobby, and waited. Kept thinking I heard his voice coming. 10;30 came and went and no sign of him.

I expected him to be escorted by an entourage of people or the other show performers or a hotel security guard at the very least. But when I saw him about 10 minutes later. It was just him strolling into the lobby with his wheeled luggage.

As I started to approach him, he said "is that Lisa?" (There was no one else in the lobby but us, a concierge and the two clerks behind the counter.)

I said "yes, hi! It's nice to finally meet you."

"I'm sorry I'm late he said."

"Oh that's OK, I know you are busy getting ready," Or I said something along those lines. 

And I gave him a hug (probably not what he was expecting but oh well. When would I ever see him again?)

I handed him my business card so he would know I was who I said I was and he said "oh assignment editor, you're an important person."

"Well... at least I like to think so," I joked.

"Maybe this guy can take our photo," Thicke said, motioning in the direction of a concierge standing there who had NO idea how to work my cell phone camera.

"I'm sorry you had to miss the show," he said to me.

"So am I,"  I said. How was it?" I don't remember his response. I also asked him where his family was but I don't remember his response to that either. In my rush to get the cameras ready and take up as little of his time as possible I forgot a few things.

I took one of Alan alone and handed it to the man, but it didn't take. So I took a few selfies but the quality was poor. The man finally took one and we checked to make sure it was there.

I asked him to sign my Growing Pains DVD and as I got the Sharpie ready he said 'here, I have these for you," and handed me a bag of Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies that I am assuming are a free gift in every hotel room at the Omni.

He signed the DVD and said a good bye and started out the doors, stopping for a newspaper on a table on the way out. When we were outside I asked to take one photo of him with my "good" camera and he obliged. Then he got in to a small chauffered car on his way to the airport for his next stop: New York.

And I got into my car, paid the $3 parking fee and went home. It was a great day for someone like me who is a huge celeb hound and who didn't think this meet-and-greet was going to happen. 

Mom on the go again! The blog returns...

It's been a long time (almost a year) since I posted anything to my blogs so I think it's a good time to revive it, especially because I have been living up to my blog name. The mom on the go lifestyle is in full force.
After a couple of weeks without my babies (most moms would relish the break but I truly missed them), I hopped on a plane to join them in Colorado, where they were spending their summer with family. Husband had taken them and the dog out there in mid-July but I. had to wait for the "sweeps" rating period to be over to take my vacation time.
I got up early on July 27to eat breakfast, tidy up things and pack the last of my belongings. My Realtor was kind enough to pick me up and drive me to JAX. While waiting for my flight, I ran into the dad of one of my older son's friends. He happens to work for the airline I was flying on. I felt lucky to have already seen two familiar faces that day. But I Couldn't wait to get off the plane in Colorado and see my children. There really is no greater feeling. ....And even now, as I type this up on my mobile phone while we drive through Georgia on our way back home, I am so grateful for the time we got to spend there together and all the memories we made. Part two of our journey (after I arrived ) will come in another post.

Ghouls out in Georgia

NOTE: I have been meaning to post this blog for quite some time now but have been so busy that there was never a good time to do it. I am taking some time now to do so.

I love this time of year--the holiday season is beginning and pumpkins and pumpkin-flavored baked goods and coffees come back.

Last month we drove to Valdosta, Ga. to check out Wild Adventures' annual Kid-o-Ween activities. (For those who don't know, Wild Adventures is a theme park about a 2-hours drive from Jacksonville, Fla.) It's a trip we have enjoyed making for the past  few years.

There are a few mainstays we look forward to each year, such as the trick-or-treating - -the kids get a bag upon entering  and then proceed to various locations throughout the park where they can collect candy. No costumes required. My sons always try to hit every candy stop.

Kid-o-Ween also includes fun, family-friendly shows like the interactive game Do You Boo? and Count Rockula's Dance Party--a popular spot where kids dance along to Halloween songs. The park also offers some of its regular shows during this time, like Tigers of India.

When we weren't riding the rides, we took turns through the hay bale maze, let each boy pick his own mini pumpkin from Monty's Magical Pumpkin Patch (good deal for just $1 each), and they decorated treat bags and paper masks at the craft station.

Although we didn't stay into the evening hours, at night the park transforms into "Terror in the Wild" a more-adult-themed event. Terror, aimed at guests ages 12 and older, includes live actors dressed in costumes and scary attractions like the Ghost Train, Field of Screams and Pumpkin Forest.

The park will also be opening two new rides in 2013: TailSpin and Wacky Wheels.

A tasty lesson on life, lunch

So I made the ultimate sacrifice last week: I ate school cafeteria 
lunch. I am kidding. It really wasn't all that bad and it was a good 
lesson--and blog. It seems not much has changed in the decades since I 
spent time in a school cafeteria.

I was at the boys' new school for one of my first volunteering efforts. 
It was picture day for the lower grades (K-2) and I was told it would 
be a lot of fixing collars and combing hair--basically making sure the 
kids looked OK. It turned out they already had someone else to do that 
job so instead I basically escorted the kids off the cafeteria stage 
and down a ramp they had probably never used before and into the 
cafeteria where the rest of their class would be waiting.

  It was an all day assignment so rather than going home to get some 
food (a 5-minute drive) I figured it would just be easier to eat lunch 
with my younger son. Afterall, it was cheese quesadilla day in the good 
old cafe so why not? I like quesadillas.

But I forgot I have not been through a cafeteria line in decades. 
Grabbing a milk to drink was easy enough but I almost forgot to grab a 
tray. And then there were students in line in front of me who wanted to 
talk--wanted to know who I was and why I was there: Was I a teacher? 
Then what to order: The cafeteria worker plopped 4 quesadilla triangles 
onto my tray (and I wondered why the shell had bumps on it--what made 
it that way? My tortilla shells don't look like that when I make them). 
Then a side of Mexican rice and another side of corn was added to my 
tray. I also grabbed a banana that I ended up NOT eating and a frozen 
fruit bar for my son that I knew he would want.
Lunch was $3 (not bad for all the food I got). The student 
meal--slightly smaller is only $1.75. The cashier asked if I wanted to 
put it on my child's account but I didn't (wanted to save the money for 
them). So I paid cash, which they did not seem to like.
Then my son and I sat down in the guest section and I tried the food. 
Just as gross as I remember when I was a kid.

In all seriousness it was not that bad. The quesadillas were OK, just 
OK--probably not the kind that children would like. I know my son did 
not even want to try them even after I added sour cream (which he 
loves) to them. I am guessing many children tossed the Mexican rice. It 
is not something a child's palate would enjoy. And the corn was 
forgettable. There was nothing spectacular about this meal or that 
would make me want to eat it again.

Parents, please do not be fooled. Your children are NOT eating the 
school lunch you are paying for. It's just not appealing enough to 
them. Did you ever wonder why they were so hungry when you picked them 
up after school? I was the lunch committee chairwoman at our last 
school so I spent a lot of time supervising lunch. The children throw 
out EVERYTHING they don't want or don't have time to eat and that 
included unopened bags of chips, cookies and Capri Suns as well as 
fruit or salad that they did not care for. I was amazed at how much of 
their lunches went straight into the trash because the either didn't 
like it or spent most of their time socializing.

I know school systems have spent a lot of time and effort to make the 
lunches healthier than when I was in school but little else has changed 
in the way of flavor and appeal. And trust me, the kids are picking and choosing which items they eat. So be sure to have some snacks ready after school. Even on pizza day. I'm just saying.