Retired US Treasury Special Agent To Share Experiences

On Nov. 3, the Upstate SC Chapter of Sisters in Crime will welcome guest speaker Craig L. Waldon, who served as a U.S. Treasury Special Agent from 1975 until his retirement in 1999. A graduate of Furman University, Craig later took graduate accounting courses at Florida State University to qualify for the Treasury position. His first Federal job was as an IRS Tax Fraud Investigative Aide. After becoming a Treasury Special Agent, he served as a field agent in Ft. Lauderdale and Tampa before becoming the Orlando, Florida, Group Manager. At the close of his employment, he served at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Brunswick, GA, as Chief of Basic Training, and was detailed to the Behavioral Science Division as a Senior Instructor for Basic and Advanced Interviewing  

Since retiring from the Treasury, Craig has kept very busy, joining Furman University’s Development Office. He was Director of Donor Research before retiring again in 2013.  An ROTC program graduate, he also served on active duty from 1971until 1973. Craig continued his military service in the Florida National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve reaching the rank of Major.

The monthly Sisters in Crime meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 3, at The Runway Café, 21 Airport Rd, Greenville, S.C.  Be there at 6:15 p.m. to meet Craig and enjoy chapter fellowship. Supper should be served at 6:30. Craig’s talk will begin right after new and old business at 7 p.m. Both dinner and the meeting are open to the public. 

In order for the Runway Café to speed service, dinner orders must be emailed by noon the day of the meeting. If you can't dine with us, we would still like to know you plan to attend so we can be sure you have a seat. If possible, please join us for dinner as our dinner orders help to ensure we can book our meeting room for free. To see the special menu for our group, please visit our website —  www.sincupstatesc.blogspot.com  — and click on the Advance Order Menu tab at right.  Please e-mail your order to Ellis Vidler at ellisvidler1@gmail.com.

If you place an order and do not attend or fail to cancel by noon, you will be charged for the meal. And like always, we'll enjoy it.

Retired CIA Executive To Share Experiences

 On Oct. 6, retired CIA executive Jay A. Hetherington and his wife, Rebecca, also a CIA alum, will be our guests at the Upstate SC Chapter of Sisters in Crime meeting. Mr. Hetherington, a CIA Senior Executive was a 33-year career officer with extensive background on military affairs, intelligence analysis and collection, and arms control issues. He also taught National Security Policy, Terrorism, Risk Assessments and Politics of the Middle East at Clemson University for nine years.

The monthly Sisters in Crime meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 6, at The Runway Café, 21 Airport Rd, Greenville, S.C.  Be there at 6:15 p.m. to meet Jay and Becky and enjoy chapter fellowship. Supper should be served at 6:30. Jay’s talk will begin right after new and old business at 7 p.m. Both dinner and the meeting are open to the public. 

In order for the Runway Café to speed service, dinner orders must be emailed by noon the day of the meeting. If you can't dine with us, we would still like to know you plan to attend so we can be sure you have a seat. If possible, please join us for dinner as our dinner orders help to ensure we can book our meeting room for free. To see the special menu for our group, click on the Advance Order Menu tab at right.  Please e-mail your order to Ellis Vidler at ellisvidler1@gmail.com.

If you place an order and do not attend or fail to cancel by noon, you will be charged for the meal. And like always, we'll enjoy it.

Deb Richardson-Moore to Visit the Upstate SC Chapter of SinC September 1, 2016

It’s not often that the Upstate SC Chapter of SinC gets to welcome an author, pastor, and newspaper writer. Deb Richardson-Moore fits this bill. As an author, Deb wrote the novel, The Cantaloupe Thief, released in June and a 2013 memoir, The Weight of Mercy. As a pastor, Deb serves the non- denominational Triune Mercy Center in Greenville, where she works to make homeless parishioners feel respected, loved – and deserving of a pastor who dresses up for them, even in high heels. As a writer for The Greenville News for 27 years, Deb covered art, theater, general features and religion.

For more information on Deb, skip to the bottom of this post.

Sisters in Crime meetings are open to readers and writers of all genders and genres. The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 1, at The Runway Café, 21 Airport Rd, Greenville, S.C. Be there at 6:15 p.m. to meet Deb and enjoy the chapter fellowship. Supper should be served at 6:30. Ms. Richardson-Moore’s presentation will begin at 7 p.m.

In order for the Runway Café to speed service, dinner orders must be emailed to Ellis Vidler, ellisvidler1@gmail.com . Please email Ellis before noon on the day of the meeting so she can call in our order. If you do not receive a confirmation from Ellis, try again. Even if you can’t dine with us, we would still like to know you plan to attend so we can be sure you have a seat. To see the special menu for our group, please visit our website—  www.sincupstatesc.blogspot.com  — and click on the Advance Order Menu tab at right.  If you place an order and do not attend or fail to cancel by noon, you will be charged for the meal. Please order something good because like always, we'll enjoy it.

Deb Richardson-Moore is a Greenville native and a graduate of Wake Forest University (Winston-Salem, NC) and Erskine Theological Seminary (Due West, SC). After obtaining her Master of Divinity degree in 2005 and being ordained by First Baptist Church of Greenville, she accepted the position as pastor of Triune. Triune is a church that brings homeless, working poor, middle-class and wealthy parishioners into community. Since the publication of her memoir about her first three years as Triune’s pastor, Deb has spoken at Memorial Church at Harvard University, Syracuse UMC in New York, Union Presbyterian Seminary in Charlotte, NC, Duke Divinity Pastors’ Conference in Durham, NC, and has taught at churches and ministries across the Carolinas and Georgia.

Sheriff Loftis to speak to the S.C. Upstate SinC on August 4, 2016

Sheriff Loftis served as Interim Sheriff in Greenville County from Sept 4, 2002 until he was elected as The Sheriff in 2003. The Greenville Sheriff’s Office serves a population of 452,000 in a county of 794 square miles. It employs 453 sworn personnel and 209 civilians. 

The Sheriff started his career in law enforcement as a Uniform Patrol Officer with the Anderson Police Department from 1974 until 1977. In 1977 he went to work with the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office in Uniform Patrol as a Deputy II. In 1979 he was promoted to Master Deputy. In 1981 to Sergeant. In 1984 to Lieutenant. Sheriff Loftis was promoted in 1994 to Captain in the Judicial Services Division . He also served as Captain in Uniform Patrol, Field Operations, and the Administrative Services Division.

For more information on the Sheriff, skip to the bottom of this note.

Readers and writers of all genres and genders are welcome at all Sisters in Crime meetings. The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, August 4, at The Runway Café, 21 Airport Rd, Greenville, S.C. Be there at 6:15 p.m. to meet Sheriff Loftis and enjoy the chapter fellowship. Supper should be served at 6:30. The Sheriff’s presentation will begin at 7 p.m. Both the dinner and the meeting are open to the public. 

In order for the Runway Café to speed service, dinner orders must be emailed to Ellis Vidler, ellisvidler1@gmail.com . Please email Ellis before noon on the day of the meeting so she can call in our order. If you do not receive a confirmation from Ellis, try again. We would still like to know you plan to attend even if you can’t dine with us so we can be sure you have a seat. To see the special menu for our group, please visit our website—  www.sincupstatesc.blogspot.com  — and click on the Advance Order Menu tab at right.  If you place an order and do not attend or fail to cancel by noon, you will be charged for the meal. Please order something good because like always, we'll enjoy it.

Sheriff Loftis attended the FBI National Academy in 1992 and graduated from the 171st Session. He graduated from the National Sheriff’s Institute Graduate in 2005, the 89th session.

He’s professional associations are:

Past President of the South Carolina Sheriff’s Association  2012 -2014

National Sheriff’s Association Court Security Committee

National Sheriff’s Association Highway Safety Committee

F.B.I. National Academy Associates Member

JTTF Executive Committee

Governor’s Appointee for Commission on Law Enforcement Advancement

Governor’s Appointee for the South Carolina Public Safety Coordinating Council

Tina Whittle to speak at the Upstate SC Upstate SC Chapter of Sisters in Crime on Thursday, July 7

Tina Whittle’s Tai Randolph/Trey Seaver mysteries—featuring intrepid gunshop owner Tai and her corporate security agent partner Trey—have garnered starred reviews in Kirkus, Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist, and Library Journal. Published by Poisoned Pen Press, this Atlanta-based series debuted with The Dangerous Edge of Things, followed by Darker Than Any Shadow, Blood, Ash and Bone, and Deeper Than the Grave. The fifth book—Reckoning and Ruin—was released in April.

To see more about Tina, skip to the bottom of this note.

Notice: When calling in your supper order, Ellis has a new email address ellisvidler1@gmail.com 

The monthly Sisters in Crime meeting is scheduled for Thursday, July 7, at The Runway Café, 21 Airport Rd, Greenville, S.C. Be there at 6:15 p.m. to meet Tina and enjoy the chapter fellowship. Supper should be served at 6:30. Ms. Whittle’s presentation will begin at 7 p.m. Both the dinner and the meeting are open to the public. 

In order for the Runway Café to speed service, dinner orders must be emailed to Ellis Vidler, ellisvidler1@gmail.com . Please ensure that you email Ellis before noon on the day of the meeting so she can call in our order. If you do not receive a confirmation from Ellis, try again. We would still like to know you plan to attend even if you can’t dine with us so we can be sure you have a seat. To see the special menu for our group, please visit our website—  www.sincupstatesc.blogspot.com  — and click on the Advance Order Menu tab at right.  If you place an order and do not attend or fail to cancel by noon, you will be charged for the meal. And like always, we'll enjoy it.

Tina’s short fiction has appeared in The Savannah Literary Journal, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, and Gulf Stream, which selected her story “Lost Causes and Other Reasons to Live” as the 2004 winner of their Mystery Fiction contest. A two-time nominee for Georgia Author of the Year, Tina enjoys golf, sushi, tarot cards, and spending time with her family (one husband, one daughter, one neurotic Maltese and two bossy chickens). She is also proud to be a member of both Low Country Sisters in Crime in Savannah and the Sisters in Crime Atlanta Chapter. You can find her at her official website—www.tinawhittle.com .

June 2, Stephen Claytor, Associate Warden at Perry Correctional Institute, to speak to the Upstate SC SinC

Stephen Claytor is the Associate Warden for Programs and Services at Perry Correctional Institute. He started his career in 1981 as a social worker at Perry, was promoted to Social Work Director, and in 1994 was promoted to Associate Warden for Programs and Services. He has a Master of Social Work, Master of Criminal Justice, and B.A. in Sociology and Psychology. When I talked to Steve, I explained that all we know about prisons we learned in Orange is the New Black. He snickered and said that some things weren’t nearly as bad as we think, and some things are worse. This should be an interesting meeting.

The monthly Sisters in Crime meeting is scheduled for Thursday, June 2, at The Runway Café, 21 Airport Rd, Greenville, S.C. Be there at 6:15 p.m. to meet Steve and enjoy the chapter fellowship. Supper should be served at 6:30. Associate Warden Claytor’s presentation will begin at 7 p.m. Both the dinner and the meeting are open to the public.

In order for the Runway Café to speed service, dinner orders must be emailed to Ellis Vidler, evidler@att.net ,by noon the day of the meeting. Please ensure that you email Ellis before noon so she can call in our order. If you can't dine with us, we would still like to know you plan to attend so we can be sure you have a seat. To see the special menu for our group, please visit our website—  www.sincupstatesc.blogspot.com  — and click on the Advance Order Menu tab at right.  If you place an order and do not attend or fail to cancel by noon, you will be charged for the meal. And like always, we'll enjoy it.

Thursday, May 5, Lynn Chandler Willis to speak at the Upstate SC Chapter of Sisters in Crime.

Lynn’s forthcoming novel, Nobody’s Baby, is the first in the three-book Ava Logan Mystery Series published by Henery Press. Nobody’s Baby is expected to be released early 2017. Her novel, Wink of an Eye: A Gypsy Moran Mystery, was a Shamus Award finalist and winner of the St. Martin’s Press/PWA Best 1st P.I. Novel competition. She is also the author of The Rising, a Grace Award top winner for Excellence in faith-based fiction, and the best-selling true crime,Unholy Covenant. More about Lynn can be found at the end of this email or at her website, http://lynnchandlerwillis.com .

The monthly Sisters in Crime meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 5, at The Runway Café, 21 Airport Rd, Greenville, S.C. Be there at 6:15 p.m. to meet Lilly and enjoy the chapter fellowship. Supper should be served at 6:30. Ms. Chandler-Willis’s presentation will begin at 7 p.m. Both the dinner and the meeting are open to the public.

In order for the Runway Café to speed service, dinner orders must be emailed to Ellis Vidler, evidler@att.net ,by noon the day of the meeting. Please ensure that you email Ellis before noon. If you can't dine with us, we would still like to know you plan to attend so we can be sure you have a seat. To see the special menu for our group, please visit our website—  www.sincupstatesc.blogspot.com  — and click on the Advance Order Menu tab at right.  If you place an order and do not attend or fail to cancel by noon, you will be charged for the meal. And like always, we'll enjoy it.

Ms. Chandler-Willis has worked in the corporate world (hated it!), the television news business (fun job) and the newspaper industry (not a fan of the word “apparently” and phrase “according to”). She keeps coming back to fiction because she likes making stuff up and you just can’t do that in the newspaper or television news business.

She is a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, and the Randolph Writers. She lives in the heart of North Carolina with her shelter dog, Finn, a happy border collie/aussie mix and babysits eight of her nine grandkids on a daily basis. They give her a lot of material to write about.

Bobby Parks Evans Jr, the Greenville County Coroner, to speak in April

On Thursday, April 7, the Upstate SC Chapter of Sisters in Crime is pleased to host Bobby Parks Evans Jr, the Greenville County Coroner. Each time our executive committee has a “who are we going to ask speak” meeting, Parks Evans’s name comes up. He has spoken to us before, and we all wanted him back. This is the month. Parks spent 5 years with the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office in the Uniform Patrol Division. He then spent 4 years with the Greenville County Coroner's office as a Deputy Coroner. In September of 1991, he was appointed Coroner by Governor Carroll Campbell and was elected to the position in November of 1992. He has been re-elected 4 times, and he is the longest serving Coroner in Greenville County history. On top of that, he’s an entertaining and informative speaker. Look at the end of this note for more information about Parks. 

The monthly Sisters in Crime meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 7, at The Runway Café, 21 Airport Rd, Greenville, S.C. Be there at 6:15 p.m. to meet Parks and enjoy the chapter fellowship. Supper should be served at 6:30. Mr. Evans’s presentation will begin at 7 p.m. Both the dinner and the meeting are open to the public.

In order for the Runway Café to speed service, dinner orders must be emailed to Ellis Vidler, evidler@att.net ,by noon the day of the meeting. If you can't dine with us, we would still like to know you plan to attend so we can be sure you have a seat. To see the special menu for our group, please visit our website—  www.sincupstatesc.blogspot.com  — and click on the Advance Order Menu tab at right.  If you place an order and do not attend or fail to cancel by noon, you will be charged for the meal. And like always, we'll enjoy it.

Parks Evans is a graduate of Berea High School and attended Furman University on a football scholarship. He also attended Garner-Webb College and Greenville Technical College. 

He has taken and completed the following courses: St. Louis Medical University’s Medicolegal Death Investigators training course, St. Louis Medical University Masters 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 9 courses in Death Investigation, Advanced Homicide Investigation, Blood Spatter Pattern Analysis, Questionable Deaths; Homicide, Suicide, or Accidental, Death Scene Processing, Crime Scene Photography, Satanism/Cults and Ritualistic Crimes, Investigation of Infant and Child Deaths, Investigation and Prosecuting Fatal Child Maltreatment, Forensic Pathology and Evidence in Death Investigation, Mass Fatalities Incident Response Course (G386), and Operation Lifesaver Grade Crossing Collision Investigation Course.

Parks has served on many boards and committees which include: South Carolina Coroners Association (Executive Board), South Carolina Coroners Association (Past President), Chairman of the South Carolina Coroners Training Advisory Board, Law Enforcement Advisory Board (Greenville Tech), National Tissue Services Advisory Committee (American Red Cross), and Armed Forces Emergency Services Committee (American Red Cross).

His achievements and certifications include South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy (Basic 1: 1983), Law Enforcement Diver, Advanced Open Water Diver, Night Diver, Diplomat for the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators, Registered Medicolegal Death Investigator (Registration # 258) and has won the 2007 Lifepoint Dove Award.

Assistant Federal Public Defender David Plowden To Be Guest Speaker At March 3 Upstate Sisters In Crime

 David Plowden, Assistant Federal Public Defender, in the Greenville office, which handles cases arising in 14 Upstate counties, will speak to the Upstate S.C. Chapter of Sisters in Crime on March 3.

What do mystery/legal thriller authors get wrong in their descriptions of the criminal justice system? If you were a public defender in a federal courtroom, whom might you cross paths with on any given day? What backgrounds do the defendants have? What charges do they face? How do defendants view their odds in court? David knows the answers to these questions and many, many more.

Mystery readers and writers—women and men—are welcome at all Sisters in Crime meetings. The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, March 3, at The Runway Café, 21 Airport Rd, Greenville, S.C. Be there at 6:15 p.m. to meet Mr. Plowden and enjoy the chapter fellowship. Supper should be served at 6:30. David's presentation will begin at 7 p.m. Both the dinner and the meeting are open to the public. 

Plowden is a 1992 graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Law and was admitted to the South Carolina Bar the same year. After serving the Honorable G. Ross Anderson, Jr. as law clerk on a one-year appointment, he served as Deputy Solicitor for Oconee County and acted as a part-time public defender in Oconee County. Then, Plowden was appointed by the court as an Assistant Federal Public Defender (AFPD). He represents defendants who are charged with federal crimes in counties served by the Greenville Office and who cannot afford an attorney.  The Federal Public Defender has four offices in the state: Columbia, Charleston, Florence, and Greenville. 

Lady Rowan to visit Upstate SC SinC on Feb. 4

On Thursday, Feb 4, the Upstate SC Chapter of Sisters in Crime is pleased to host Lady Rowan. Rowan is considered empathic, clairaudiant, claircognizant and sometimes, clairvoyant.  Lady Rowan has visited us before, and we invited her back due to popular demand. This should prove to be an interesting, informative, and of course, fun meeting. 

Instructing is one of Lady Rowan’s passions. She teaches religio-magick to local community members, and she educates on Paganism to help dispel a lot of the most common fears of non-Pagans. She is a High Priestess and leads her own coven located in Starr as well as serving other Pagan community members as clergy. In 2012, she led a didactic at An-Med hospital to educate their clergy on basic Pagan beliefs. 
Rowan has been reading tarot cards for over 10 years. For a short time she read for an online company, Circle of Stars, and was a Master Psychic for their site. For 2 years she served as the resident reader for McGee's Irish Pub in Anderson.

Lady Rowan served as the Director of the Upstate SC Pagan Pride Day in 2009 & 2010 before launching her own group festival that celebrates all faiths, the Unity Project. She was published in AREN 
(Alternative Religious Educational Network) for the Samhain 2009 issue and served as the first Pagan advisor for the Anderson Independent Mails Faith and Values board in 2011-2012 where she wrote Pagan informed articles each month. She still reads for clients, and she owns her own dream store, The Crooked Broom.

The monthly Sisters in Crime meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Feb 4, at The Runway Café, 21 Airport Rd, Greenville, S.C. Be there at 6:15 p.m. to meet Lady Rowan and enjoy the chapter fellowship. Supper should be served at 6:30. Rowan's presentation will begin at 7 p.m. Both the dinner and the meeting are open to the public.

In order for the Runway Café to speed service, dinner orders must be emailed to Ellis Vidler, evidler@att.net ,by noon the day of the meeting. If you can't dine with us, we would still like to know you plan to attend so we can be sure you have a seat. To see the special menu for our group, please visit our website—  www.sincupstatesc.blogspot.com  — and click on the Advance Order Menu tab at right.  If you place an order and do not attend or fail to cancel by noon, you will be charged for the meal. And like always, we'll enjoy it.