Rochelle Pennington is an award-winning newspaper columnist and author of ten books including Highlighted in Yellow (available in four languages; co-authored with H. Jackson Brown), The Historic Christmas Tree Ship (as featured on national television), An Old-Fashioned Christmas (2009 Midwest Booksellers Choice Award nomination for outstanding non-fiction), and more. Her work has been included in multiple bestselling series over the past two decades.

Pennington has worked as a consultant providing story and quotation recommendations to several of the publishing industry’s most noted authors including Jack Canfield of Chicken Soup for the Soul, H. Jackson Brown of Life’s Little Instruction Books, Dr. Richard Carlson of Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, and Alice Gray of Stories for the Heart.

Pennington is both a lively storyteller and an entertaining lecturer.  Her popularity as a presenter is evidenced by the many invitations she receives to return and speak on further topics.

MOST REQUESTED PROGRAMS:

 Christmas Tree Ship
The Most Storied Shipwreck of the Great Lakes
100th Anniversary in 2012!

Over the past century, the true account of the Christmas Tree Ship has inspired paintings, poems, six different Christmas Tree Ship songs, television programs, a musical titled “The Christmas Schooner” performed countrywide each season, and a new Christmas Tree Ship sailed by the Great Lakes Coast Guard every December as a living memorial.

Pennington’s presentation includes original photographs and focuses on little-known facts—clues washed ashore over decades following the ship’s mysterious disappearance, ghost ship sightings, and omens believed to have fixed the fate of the vessel before it set sail on November 22, 1912. Artifacts raised from the sunken ship will be on display, along with underwater photos of the ship in its current state at the bottom of Lake Michigan.

An informative, fascinating, and heartwarming holiday lecture!

 
An Old-Fashioned Christmas
A Nostalgic Peek Into Christmas Past
1930 through 1960

Capture the holiday spirit as Pennington guides her audience members back to the much-loved traditions of yesteryear when Christmas shopping meant paging through a Sears & Robuck catalog and heading downtown to the local five-and-dime store.

Over 100 images are featured in the lighthearted PowerPoint presentation, including Norman Rockwell paintings, vintage black-and-white photographs, and toy ads—from Lionel trains and Raggedy Ann, to Howdy Doody and Schwinn bikes.  Please visit OFCbook.com to view example images.

A favorite in November and December!    “Yule” enjoy it!

World War I Christmas Miracle
Peace Prevails Over War, Christmas 1914

Discover the factual account of the 1914 battlefield Christmas truce which is remembered today as “the most extraordinary event in world military history” and “the grand human moment.” This program details the amazing circumstances surrounding 100,000 enemy combatants exchanging the gift of peace and halting a war. 

The author will draw directly from the written memories of those soldiers who were there. Vintage photographs will be presented by PowerPoint and authentic WWI artifacts from the author’s personal collection will also be on display.

Bring tissues. This program is a tear-jerker (in a good way).

Stories Behind Our Most Loved Christmas Hymns and Carols

Explore the fascinating history behind dozens of our most memorized Christmas carols with Pennington, a church organist/pianist/guitarist for the past 34 years.

Have you ever wondered how your favorite holiday hymn or song of the season came into origin, or what events inspired its lyrics to be written?  Factual perspective, behind-the-scenes trivia, and little-known insights into well-known carols will be presented.

Audience attendees will be invited to sing with gusto (or simply hum along) during the program’s musical conclusion.  Fa la la la la!

The Endurance
A Jaw-Dropping True Story

Pennington traveled to the countries of England and Scotland to research Sir Ernest Shackleton’s epic travels aboard the ship Endurance in 1914 with his crew of 27.  Her research is presented in a spirit-bolstering program which details the extraordinary acts of determination used by the men to move fearlessly forward and triumph over the frozen Antarctic expanse. Commander Shackleton, a leader among leaders, taught his men how to employ their thoughts to persevere against all odds, and he inspires us to do the same.

Considered the “greatest survival account in history,” the journey lives on today as a timeless model which shows how ordinary people, armed only with the simple power of attitude, can dive headfirst into immense adversity and emerge victorious.

Pennington’s PowerPoint presentation features dozens of authentic documents and stunning photographs taken during the expedition. 

Captivating!  Storytelling at its best!  Audience members will be left on the edge of their seats.  

A Walk Down Memory Lane

Come and take a glance backwards to the “Good Old Days” of the 1930s, 40s, and 50s.

This program is packed with historic trivia, and details everyday life during the bygone years of corner phone booths, party lines, hand-me-down clothes, doctors who made house calls, wringer washing machines, marble matches, Shirley Temple dolls, and the voices of Bing Crosby, Perry Como, and Nat King Cole.

Audience attendees will be invited to remember a time when percolating coffee pots, mothers in aprons, flour sifters, home-baked bread, and suppers prepared from canning jars lining the pantry shelves were part of everyday life.

A “feel good” program!  Ideal for those age 50 and up. 

ADDITIONAL PROGRAM TOPICS AVAILABLE