My Mom, the Trailblazer

Twenty-two years ago Wilma Amison, my mother, went to work for the Church of God Publishing House.  She began her career as a copy editor, which she was VERY good at!  She then moved to the office of Book Editor.  A little over 12 years ago, her boss at the time, Homer Rhea, decided she was the perfect person to become the managing editor of our denomination's magazine, "The Evangel."  Mom was wary of the promotion, afraid of the computer-intensive job, the stress of a monthly publication, and the responsibility.  But Homer persisted.  She took the job and became the first female managing editor of the publication.  That fact by itself is something to be proud of.  Each issue required reading scores of articles, sometimes writing articles, choosing which will be printed, sending rejection letters, editing articles to be included each month, tracking down pictures to accompany each story, making sure deadlines were met, approving lay-outs, dealing with fragile-egoed writers or irate readers/writers. But she did so much more than that. In the words of one employee at the "Pub", she was the Queen Mother. She knew everyone by name, cared about their families, encouraged each in their goals.  She felt like they were her children and kept up with many even after they moved on to other jobs and places in life. One hundred and fifty issues gone to bed under the leadership of Wilma Amison.  One hundred and fifty beautiful covers chosen. Multitudes of articles edited to perfection, a red pen in hand. 

In May of this year, the time came to pass the responsibilities of publishing a monthly magazine on to another.  Retirement will offer sleeping in, long lunch dates with friends, and time for reading for fun (although, I think she loved reading all day long for a living!). More time for great-grand babies, getting to know her new daughter-in-law, and shopping.  And maybe, even, some free-lance work (she has always been in great demand!).

A retirement party was given to celebrate her new freedom--complete with cake, speeches, plaque, guests and photos!  Celebrate with her and enjoy the pictures!

 

Dr. Cossey, the current Editor-in-Chief, presented Mom with a plaque and a red pen to correct a mistake on it!

Two past and one current Editor-in-Chief (Homer Rhea, Mom, Bill George, James Cossey) spoke about her tenure with the "Pub", noting her love for details, her eagle eye for mistakes, her ability to make any writer sound good, her loyalty to the magazine and the publishing house, and the way she had of writing "ugly baby" (rejection) letters with compassion and kindness.  It was evident by the turn-out at the reception, that she was much-loved by her fellow workers.  The chapel was filled with people who had come to say good-bye, give her a hug or a card.

Susan was Mom's secretary for almost 12 years.  And the friendship remains even today!

Wang Fang and I were privileged to attend the reception and witness for ourselves the love, honor and respect given our mom, Wilma Amison.

(Not responsible for errors in spelling, grammar or punctuation due to writing this at 3:00 in the morning.  Don't get out your red pen, mom!)