About Us
LITERACY SOLUTION
Our children's book team features this video by Miroslav Vukmirovic (Mikey Woodsy). It shows how our books spark behavior-changing reading habits. Magical tales about the Goopy Ghost of the pumpkin and epic adventures about such iconic animals as rays and sharks, raccoons and armadillos hold young readers' attention and spark learning.
(1 min 30 seconds )
Editor
Award-winning Australian author Graeme Lofts deserves first-place mention for his final edits of our books. This former educator of Science and Physics penned numerous textbooks. He currently writes non-fiction scientific and business books. Graeme pushed for the facts about the iconic animals in the children's books to be added to this website. Facts build on the fascinating subject matter and calm blind fears about wildlife.
Marketing Guru
Vice President Abby Quigg brings networking power to the children's book team. This founding director of Little Ray Children’s Books is an experienced event hosting planner, realtor, and business owner. She will help plan Waffles for Sharks charitable events to spread awareness about the mission of this organization. Abby Quigg is an alumna of the University of Kentucky.
Overall Responsibility
Retired mental-health attorney Terry Verduin (pen name V. R. Duin) works to improve childhood mental health with fun characters. She was a certified SCUBA diver. Her content and trademarks are licensed to Little Ray Children’s Books. Her books are in our Bookstore. She serves as President and Director of daily operations, planning, and fundraising. She administers this website and the Goopy Ghost content hub.
Financial Officer
Engineer Dick Verduin serves as Treasurer and Director. This founding director is responsible for overseeing, managing, reconciling, and accounting for the financial affairs of this charity. He is not related to Terry Verduin by blood or by marriage. Dick Verduin is a graduate of Northwestern University. He also performs part-time engineering work involving environmental systems and construction permits.
Volunteer Expert
Amie Holton brings 21 years of entrepreneurship and 12 years of volunteer service at schools and sporting events to Little Ray Children’s Books. Her executive skills & experience in child welfare and education qualified her to serve as Secretary. Amie's prior service to the board was the recruitment of volunteers. Her networks and connections contribute to our leadership and management. Amie has assisted our operations since our founding.
Advisory Board
Pilar Jiménez Romero is a skilled scientist, educator, and marketer. Her expertise in teaching and learning foreign languages brings welcome insights to our board. Pilar’s marketing expertise is helpful in the use of our rhyming books for learners of English as a second language in U.S. schools with an immigrant student population. Pilar speaks, reads, and writes multiple languages. We are confident that her experience and expertise will help us elevate our educational presence.
Miroslav Vukmirovic
This inspired composer and film producer uses the stage name Mikey Woodsy. His original music comes to life in brilliant presentations throughout our websites. Miroslav Vukmirovic (Mikey Woodsy) captures the mystery, adventure, and fun of our children's stories. His ability to process diverse sights and sounds was refined over many years of film and television direction and production. Experience the artful productions of Mikey Woodsy across Little Ray and Goopy Ghost websites. Be sure to explore his offerings on nocturo. Among his exclusive art projects and sensational gifts to our nonprofit, you will find “ONE GOOD DAY”. It is on his website and ours!
Thank You, Google.com
We are grateful to Google.com for our in-kind search Ad Grant, which provides our nonprofit with almost $10,000 per month in advertising. Our search ads on Google.com drive about 20% of our website traffic. We also appreciate our product listings in Google Merchant Center, where shoppers discover, explore, and buy products. Google Analytics gives us valuable website metrics.
Thank You, Mentors!
SCORE provides one-on-one nonprofit consulting services at no charge. The mentorship meetings are confidential. These meetings are conveniently scheduled. They can be conducted by phone, email, or in person in Jacksonville, Florida. Our board president attends SCORE workshops about diverse, business-oriented subjects. SCORE helps to empower our board to make the best decisions for our nonprofit, our donors, and customers.
Thank You, Canva!
We are grateful to Canva for their Nonprofits program. Thanks to this program, our nonprofit receives all of the features of Canva Pro at no cost. This valuable benefit enables our organization to create high-quality visuals for everything from social media to reports and presentations. Projects created with Canva are building awareness of our children’s book brand characters and our missions.
Help Wanted
We seek a commission-only sales representative/broker to build a strategic alliance with an entertainment or retail organization for our Goopy Ghost brand.
