Linda's About Me Page

Alzheimer’s Volunteer: Linda has been an Alzheimer’s volunteer and advocate on the state and national levels for fifteen years. She served on the Alzheimer’s Association Mid-Missouri Chapter’s Board of Directors for six years. The Missouri Coalition recognized Linda as Advocate of the Year in 2008, and she is a three-time finalist for the Maureen Reagan Advocate Award. Linda established a Memory Walk (now the Walk to End Alzheimer’s) to raise Alzheimer’s awareness in her community and coordinated the walk for five years.

Alzheimer’s Speaker: Linda provides programs for Alzheimer’s groups, support groups, aging professionals, hospice, civic organizations, and in-service dementia specific training for healthcare professionals. She has spoken to large groups including being the keynote speaker at the Oklahoma/Arkansas Alzheimer’s Education Conference.

Writing: Linda is a freelance writer of both fiction and nonfiction. She is published in Chicken Soup for the Soul, Cup of Comfort, Well Versed, Echoes of the Ozarks, and other print and online publications. She was the author and editor of Alzheimer’s Anthology of Unconditional Love, an anthology of true Alzheimer’s stories. She has won numerous prizes with her writing including Ozarks Writer League’s Best book of the Year for her book Early Onset Blog: Essays from an Online Journal and a Missouri Writers’ Guild Show Me Book Award for A Shaker of Margaritas: Hot Flash Mommas published by her company Mozark Press LLC. She has blogged for five years on an award-winning Early Onset Alzheimer’s blog.

Business Women: Linda is the 2011-2012 president of Sedalia Business Women, the largest Business Women of Missouri club in the state. Her president’s theme “Brighter Tomorrows for All Generations” is symbolized with a feminine sunface to represent growth and positive energy. She has been active in the organization for several years, chairing committees and serving as an officer for five years. Linda established a scholarship fundraising program called the Red Purse Raffle which annually raised around $1,000. Her local club honored her with the Woman of the Year award in 2007-2008.   

 Publications and Writing Awards:

June 2011: “Elizabeth’s Lucky Day” won 1st place in Well Versed and “A Walk in the Park” won and HM.

April 2011: At the Missouri Writers Guild Annual Conference, A Shaker of Margaritas: Hot Flash Mommas, edited by L. S. Fisher won a Show-Me Book Award, 2nd Place with “Road Trip” Best Short Story, and “Sharkey’s Back in Town” won an HM in Flash Fiction.

November 2010:  Early Onset Blog: Essays from an Online Journal (2009) won the coveted Ozarks Writers League’s (OWL) Best Book of the Year Award. “Sea Monkeys” won 3rd place in the Gene Andereck Short Story Contest and “In Search of the Morel” won 3rd place in the Dan Saults Essay Contest. “New Identity” was published in a Mozark Press anthology entitled A Shaker of Margaritas: Hot Flash Mommas.

May 2010:  At the Missouri Writers Guild Annual Conference, Linda won first place for Best Essay in a Magazine, Anthology or Journal for "The Cat and Toad Exercise Plan" and third place in Best Short Story for "Prisoner of My Dreams.”

April 2010:   Early Onset blog: the Friendship Connection and Other Essays by L. S. Fisher, published by Mozark Press. This book is a published version of Linda’s 2009 Early Onset Blog entries.

Linda Fisher’s fiction stories “The Road Trip” (1st Place), “The Storm of Last Chance (Honorable Mention), and “Ladies Night” published in Well Versed Literary Works 2010.

L. S. Fisher launched a Baby Boomer blog— Boomer Aerobics: Body, Mind, and Spirit.

February 2010:   “New Identity” by Linda S. Fisher won 2nd place in Ozarks Writers League Gene Andereck Short Story Contest.

November 2009:   "Whistle Stop" published in Echoes of the Ozarks V.

August 2009:   “Making a Splash,” “Prisoner of My Dreams" and “The Big River Church” published in Well Versed 2009.

July 2009:   "The Cat and Toad Exercise Plan" selected for publication in Chicken Soup for the Soul: What I Learned From the Cat to be released September 22, 2009.

April 2009:   Early Onset Blog: Essays from an Online Journal by L. S. Fisher released. This book is a published version of Linda's 2008 Early Onset Blog posts.

At the Missouri Writers Guild Annual Conference, Linda won second place in Flash Fiction for “Breakfast at Perkins,” Second Place in Best Health Article for “Diagnosis and Doctor Visits,” Second Place in Best Essay in a Magazine, Anthology, or Journal for “You’re Going the Wrong Way,” third place for Best Short Story for “The Red Velvet Dress" and third place in Best "It's a Mystery" Short Story for "Ladies Night.”

The 2009 MWG Flash Fiction Contest judge, Amy Willoughby-Burle, had this to say, "In the end, I went for ones that followed traditional story paths, but were flashes in time for the most part . . . but also, ones that I could tell the writer knew what he or she was doing, that there was some craft in the wording, and some meaning in the end."

The Flash Fiction Contest was sponsored by Saturday Writers.

November 2008:   "Conspiracy of the Fat Cats" selected for publication in Echoes of the Ozarks IV.

August 2008:   “A Man Called Rabbit” (2nd Place Contest Winner), “Breakfast at Perkins" (Contest Honorable Mention) and “The Red Velvet Dress” published in Well Versed 2008.

April 2008:  At the Missouri Writers Guild Annual Conference, Linda won second place in the Best Ghost Story or Tall Tale category for “A Man Called Rabbit,” second place in the Best Health Article category for “Writing As Therapy – Rocks and Pebbles” and second place in the Best Humorous Essay category for “Smarter Than the Box.”

March 2008:  "The Cat and Toad Exercise Plan" 7th Place, Dead of Winter Contest, thewritehelper.com

January 2008:  Linda began her Early Onset Blog in January with a focus on early onset dementia. As a caregiver, Linda realized that early onset dementia affected her entire family. Her posts are never written in advance and reflect her point of view about current events or the calamities of a hectic lifestyle. She normally relates these daily events to her caregiver experiences. Blog posts are often about family and range from serious to humorous, reflective to anticipatory.

November 2007:   “The Seventh and Eighth Grade Basketball Game” selected for publication in Echoes of the Ozarks III.

“You’re Going the Wrong Way” selected for publication in A Cup of Comfort for Families Touched by Alzheimer's released October 2008.

June 2007:  Short story “Snake of the Month Club” and two essays--“In Search of the Fish” and “Breathe Normally” published in Well Versed 2007.

2006: First place in the Sedalia Book and Toy Short Story Contest, honorable mention in Bylines for flash fiction, and two honorable mentions in the 74th Annual Writer’s Digest Contest in the feature articles category. Her short story “Memory Pillow” is in Echoes of the Ozarks II. Her true stories "The Watch", "Gone in the Night" and "The Aftermath' are published in Alzheimer's Anthology of Unconditional Love.

 

Alzheimer’s Volunteer Work

Current Participation

  • Mid Missouri Alzheimer’s Chapter - Ambassador
  • Sedalia Walk to End Alzheimer’s Champion, 2008-Present
  • Creator and Leader of Early Onset Book Projects
  • Participates in the Alzheimer’s Association Public Policy Forum in Washington, D.C. (annually since 2000)
  • Participates in Memory Day in Jefferson City
  • Co-Captain of “Jim’s Team” (since 1998) in the Sedalia Walk to End Alzeimer’s

Past Participation

  • Creator and Leader of The 110,000 Project which published Alzheimer's Anthology of Unconditional Love
  • Coordinated the Sedalia Memory Walk for the 1999 through 2003 Walks
  • Co-Coordinated the Annual Night to Remember Dances for Five years
  • Served on Mid-Missouri Chapter Board of Directors for Six Years
  • Wrote Three Articles for the Mid-Missouri Chapter Newsletter
  • Co-Facilitated the Sedalia Support Group for 10 years

Recognition

  • Finalist for the Maureen Reagan Advocate Award in 2006, 2008, and 2010
  • Received Alzheimer's Association Missouri Coalition 2008 First Annual "Advocate of the Year" Award
  • Received Missouri BPW "Women Mean Business" Award - February 29, 2008
  • Linda S. Fisher -- Named Sedalia BPW Woman of the Year on October 14, 2007
  • Received a Proclamation Award on the floor of the Missouri House of Representatives in 2006 in recognition of Volunteer Work for the Alzheimer’s Association

Other Associations