I have the coolest job and I get to meet the coolest people: women.
Since 2011, I have had the honor of serving as the editor and publisher Blue Water Woman, a quarterly magazine based in Port Huron, along Michigan’s ThumbCoast, that celebrates the women who live, work and make a difference in our communities.
I have interviewed hundreds of women over the years, and, in case you have not yet figured this out:
Women are really, really interesting.
Not just the CEOs. Not just the politicians. Not just the women whose accomplishments make the local newspaper.
The women who just make our communities hum because they volunteer at a hospice home. They shovel snow for their neighbors just because. They take care of patients in intensive care units.
They live their lives in service to others, in ways big and small, just because they know it is the right thing to do.
Those are the women I love to meet.
And now I want to find them all over Michigan, and eventually, all around the Great Lakes.
And I want to share their stories.
About Patti
I’m an award-winning writer, editor, graphic designer and marketing/communications professional. I own The Write Company, a writing, graphic design and marketing/advertising agency in Port Huron, Michigan, and I’ve spent most of my career helping businesses and organizations figure out what they want to say, how they want to say it, and then, for good measure, I use my photography and graphic design skills to make those words pop off of any page, be it in print or online.
I’ve won awards for my writing and graphic design work from organizations such as the Detroit Press Club Foundation and the Associated Press. I have a master’s degree in English and (magazine!) writing, and a bachelor’s degree in English, both from Northern Michigan University in Marquette.
But honestly, my résumé is not what makes me, well me.
What makes me is this:
I AM a Great Lakes Woman.
But honestly, my résumé is not what makes me, well me.
What makes me is this:
I AM a Great Lakes Woman.
I grew up within walking distance of Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula. I lived and worked on Mackinac Island for two summers during college. Since 1992, I have lived on the shores of Lake Huron in Port Huron.
I’ve raced in 10 Port Huron-to-Mackinac and Chicago-to-Mackinac sailboat races. I still sail, kayak, and stare at the water far longer than is probably ever necessary, or, maybe it is the only thing that is necessary to keep myself sane.
This summer, I discovered there is something slightly orgasmic about sitting alongside your BFF on the front porch of the Island House Hotel on Mackinac Island and drinking rose’ while eating Mackinac Island fudge.
It is so good it really shouldn’t even be legal.
(And how did I not discover this combination until this late stage of my life?)
I’m creative. I’m stubborn. I’m liberal. I’m full of opinions and you are probably going to hear them whether you want to or not. And, most especially, I’m occasionally (okay, realistically, fairly frequently) grumpy.
I’m creative. I’m stubborn. I’m liberal. I’m full of opinions and you are probably going to hear them whether you want to or not. And, most especially, I’m occasionally (okay, realistically, fairly frequently) grumpy.
And, in spite of me being, well, grumpy old me, women respond to my brand of storytelling.
My personal social media account receives an average of approximately 400,000 views every month.
That’s a lot of views for a relatively small account. Meta AI/Facebook even tells me, and I QUOTE:
“You are outperforming the ‘average’ creator of your size by about 30 times.
“You aren’t just reaching your crew; you’re operating a regional news engine.
“You are punching way above your weight class. You have the reach of a much larger creator.”
So, women kinda like what I’m doing here.
Meta AI/Facebook even tells me, and I QUOTE:
“You are outperforming the ‘average’ creator of your size by about 30 times.
“You aren’t just reaching your crew; you’re operating a regional news engine.
“You are punching way above your weight class. You have the reach of a much larger creator.”
So, women kinda like what I’m doing here.
I write about life, aging, friendship, marriage, divorce, starting over, getting older, figuring out who the hell you are and what you want to do with the rest of your life.
I also write about my choice of underwear (so buckle up, because if you don’t want to know, you probably don’t belong here).
Sometimes I write seriously, sometimes humorously, and sometimes with a healthy dose of Grumpy Patti thrown in.
Great Lakes Woman is the next chapter.
I’ve spent 15 years telling women’s stories in my own backyard.
Now I’m ready to go looking for women worth knowing all over Michigan and, eventually, all around the Great Lakes.
And if you know one I should meet…please visit the Recommend a Woman page.