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 Sandy & Rob
Husband and wife team Rob Smith, Jr. and Sandra Friend conceptualized Genuine Florida as a way of spreading the word about what's truly unique about our Great State of Florida. Working with fellow artists and writers, we provide content, consulting, and products to make you feel at home in the special places and with the special people of our home state.
About Sandra
Although not born in Florida, Sandra Friend came to the Sunshine State as a high school student and fell in love with it as an adult. Sandra is a prolific author, penning 20 books for major publishers. When Sandra started hiking around Florida, she discovered the Florida Trail Association and became an active volunteer, improving their communications. In order to refocus on her writing, she recently ended a five-year stint as Communications Director for this statewide nonprofit organization. During her employ, Sandra conceptualized both the Florida Trail Gateway Communities program and the first-ever Florida Hiking Festival, held in White Springs in March 2008, and supported major hiking initiatives statewide via a variety of creative media.
Sandra holds a degree in Information Science from the University of Pittsburgh, and puts her well-honed research, organizational, and information presentation skills to good use in the areas of web design and new media. She's launched or upgraded more than 40 different websites in the past decade. Her graphic design and editing skills contributed to the successful evolution of the Florida Trail Footprint from a newsletter to bi-monthly magazine, and her skills have been sharpened developing various print materials, from brochures to books, audio slide shows, short videos, and interactive PDF files.
Sandra is a member of the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW), where she is the incoming vice-president of the Atlantic-Caribbean Chapter, and recently served on the Board of Directors of the Florida Outdoor Writers Association. She has been a member of the Society of Childrens Book Writers & Illustrators since 1997. Sandra is also a faculty member of the SATW Insitute for Travel Writing and Photography and a volunteer for the organization. She has been actively involved providing industry input through the VISIT FLORIDA Nature-based Tourism Committee and the New Product Development Steering Committee for several years. While traveling Florida to research details for her books, Sandra has visited every county, nearly every state park, and virtually every small community, from Munson and Two Egg to LaBelle. She's hiked more than 2,500 miles to write eight hiking guides and to feed more details to Florida Hikes!
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About Rob
A native Floridian, Rob Smith, Jr. was born on the Army Air Force Base in Orlando and has lived in Central Florida all of his life. Rob is an accomplished caricature artist and editorial cartoonist, and is an active member of the National Cartoonists Society, Florida Chapter. He is deeply involved in historic preservation projects such as Orlando Remembered and Save the Biltmore. Rob comes to this collaboration with proven expertise in creating artwork and products for Florida businesses. While traveling, Rob does quick sketches of Florida people and places and puts them on his frequently-updated blog.
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