CONTRIBUTORS ( CONTINUED )

TAMMY HADER

JO ANN BENDER is a midwesterner lady who traded in her 30- year accounting career in 2018 to reinvent herself as a writer . Somehow , she was able to utilize her Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from Wichita State University to meticulously articulate and arrange the alphabet to give rise to a series of extraordinary writing projects . Referred to as The Bashful Storyteller by one of her writing peers , Tammy authored the powerfully reflective book Walking Old Roads – A Memoir of Kindness Rediscovered , released this past June . She also writes essays about being a migraine warrior for WebMD and publishes life stories as a Baby Boomer for The National Association of Baby Boomer Women and BabyBoomer . org . BizCatalyst360 and Medium have also published Tammy ’ s work . She was also a contributing author to the 2022 Daily Gift Book Series by Teresa Velardi . Tammy is working on the second book of her memoir series , Door Number Three – A Memoir of Stupidity and Confidence . Besides writing , she enjoys caring for her mom , cooking for her family , and serving her two rescue cats with the royal attention they deserve . I am delighted and thankful that Tammy shares her empowering story , “ A 47-Year-Old Mother ’ s Day Gift .” It is an excellent expression of an emotional path of role reversal journey we will all one day take with our beloved parents in our “ Lovingly Parenting Our Parents ” section .

( stage name - Annie Packey ) is a published author of a dozen fiction and non-fiction books . Over the years , besides being a novelist , she has also written many published free-lance features . With her BA in journalism from the University of Iowa and graduate work with the University of Northern Iowa , she has created several new public relations departments for non-profits , including the American Red Cross in Iowa and Montana . Jo Ann owned two bed and breakfasts for years while assisting her husband , Frederick ( Bud ) Budinger , aka Skipper , in developing his engineering business . Together , they happily raised his eight children and her three . Jo Ann especially enjoyed writing and producing a PBX fifteen-chapter drama when she was in Iowa . Another profession that brought her plenty of joy was when she was the editor of Missouri ’ s largest weekly newspaper . Jo Ann also relished her time as an educational construction seminar business organizer . She believes that each of us can switch from role to role to express and maximize our talents to enrich humanity . I am honored to have Jo Ann share with us her empowering life journey story “ Our Lives Become the Stories We Tell with the Lessons They Teach !” to arriving at her latest residence in one of the many active retirement villages in Spokane , Washington , for our Nana ’ s Wisdom section .

8 | Inspirations for Better Living • September 2023