ANN LONDON

Leita Hermanson Crossfield writes by the name Ann London in honor of her Jewish grandmother Annette, who died long before she was born, and her great grandmother Helen Louden, who drove a Ford Mustang into her eighties and lived to be 96.

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Crossfield blogs at CreativityCatalyst on Wordpress and runs several websites including upsidedowntown.net, operationpetunia.org and communityhub. She serves on the board of Write On The River, a non-profit writing organization in North Central Washington which hosts the annual spring conference of the same name.

Crossfield is also founder and owner of Upside Down, and an award-winning writer and marketer who has twenty years sales/PR/ marketing experience that includes 19 years experience as a business owner. Since 1991, she has worked with companies like Bucher Aerospace, Prime Pacific Bank, Glacier Northwest, Puget Sound Trucklines and others to help them create marketing strategies and promotions; from concept to finished piece; to solve problems, increase exposure and increase sales.

Crossfield launched her first firm in Seattle at the age of 25 from a small corner office in the terminal building at Boeing Field.

"A plethora of new ideas, an asset to her community, Hermanson lives her life with determination and zeal and is an innovative thinker, craftsman of words, with an honest desire to change our world." In addition to running her own communications company, Upside Down, Hermanson volunteers within her community.

Crossfield has served on the board of the Arts Council of Snohomish County, attends chamber of commerce meetings and has been called upon by the Superior Court Judges of Snohomish County to make speeches to jurors. She balances all this while raising her young son and supporting the many other people who depend on her.

A naturally gifted writer, Hermanson has worked as a writer for the Everett Herald and started out working at the Yakima Herald Republic, a daily newspaper in Yakima Washington. Her appetite for adventure unappeased, Hermanson joined the United States Air Force hoping to fly jets. From there she went on to start her own public relations and communications business in Seattle, Washington.

In Seattle, Hermanson pioneered the Industrial Strength Advertising program for clients in heavy industry which resulted in costs savings for clients, and her firm being featured in the Puget Sound Business Journal and other media. Hermanson has won awards for her efforts, including a Washington Press Association Award among others.

On the high-tech side, in 1998, Hermanson launched the marketing/PR department for a growing software development firm focused on the wireless automated data capture industry (bar-coding) where she developed the marketing plan and strategy; created the overall look and design of all marketing pieces; produced a direct mail campaign targeted toward strategic business partners which garnered a 13% response rate; plus established budgets and schedules for all advertising, PR, trade show, and marketing functions.

In 2000, through a program she created called Sales Catalyst Coaching, Hermanson worked with Trans America Auto Glass, a division of Speedy Auto Glass, to revamp their sales process and re-invent their proposals, presentations and marketing pieces.

Other examples of her work include: an industry review for a national wire manufacturer which resulted in the firm being featured in local and national media when it received its ISO 9000 certification; and a PR strategy which resulted in a local clothing manufacturer being featured on King 5 Evening Magazine and in key national media.

Early in her career, Hermanson was as an award-winning manager at Nordstrom where she received the company s highest honor Customer Service All-Star and numerous awards for exceeding sales goals and for creating innovative promotions. Her experience also includes work for a daily newspaper, first in the newsroom and then in the advertising department where she headed up the national advertising. Hermanson has served as the volunteer Public Relations Director for the Downtown Everett Action Committee, as well as PR director for Fresh Paint Arts Festival, and public relations for the 4th of July committee.

Through her involvement with DEAC, she created a downtown restaurant guide to assist the Snohomish County Superior Court with its Juror Appreciation program. She is now expanding this guide to become a Downtown Everett Restaurant and Entertainment Guide.

Hermanson has been an active community volunteer for over twenty years, beginning in high school where she served as editor of her high school newspaper, was Miss Selah, an ambassador for the Apple Juice Capital of the World, and then served as the volunteer royalty coordinator for several years when her year as Miss Selah ended. She has also volunteered for the Allied Arts Council where she assisted with communications projects, as well as the Children s Hospital Light Up a Child s Life Auction in Seattle.

This bio contributed by Ronda Renee