22:3 (2007:09) Profiles: Char Simser

August 19, 2007 at 3:52 pm | Posted in President, Profiles | 2 Comments

PROFILES

CHAR SIMSER
Susan Davis, Columns Editor

Some things change, some things stay the same.  What has changed?  The person responsible for putting together this column is no longer Maggie Rioux.  However, following tradition, the newly installed NASIG President, Char Simser, is the subject of this profile.  I think she sets a record by being the first individual to be profiled twice.

I was coerced into taking over this column when Maggie subtly mentioned it during our convivial evening on a NASIG dine-around in Louisville. I must have made a serious dent in my margarita to have even considered accepting, but Maggie and Kathryn Wesley are a tough team to say “no” to.  Luckily I had Char’s earlier profile in v.19, no. 1 (March 2004) of the NASIG Newsletter to fall back upon for material.  Feel free to refer back to the earlier article (http://nasig.org/newsletters/newsletters.2004/04march/04march_profiles.html#CHAR) if you get lost or are confused by my questions or Char’s answers.

As a former NASIG President, I couldn’t resist asking Char some questions about the president’s column she has to write for each issue.  And as a former editor of the newsletter, the tables are now turned on her!  I could hear the “Argh!” as she responded to my question about how she felt now that she has to turn in copy on deadline.   I then asked her if she had any pets that might be speaking in her column (referring to the past adventures of Twyla, Jimmie Dale, and my cat Peaches.)  Char has a cat named Tinkerbell who was adopted by her co-worker but could not adjust to her new home with two other cats.  Tinker will be 10 later this year and is not a people cat and will not be appearing in Char’s columns.  However, you may be able to sneak a peak at Tinkerbell on Char’s Flickr site (http://www.Flickr.com/photos/kstatelibrarian/).

I also asked Char to compare the time she spent on the NASIG Newsletter as editor-in-chief versus NASIG President.  Since she only has experience as the vice president she did confess that editor-in-chief took much more time.  However, she reserves the right to reconsider her answer at the Phoenix conference.  And after the discussion about running for office recently, she has a head start on a topic for her column.

Char clearly has a creative bent.  She’s into creative writing and Maggie told us in the March 2004 piece to ask how her novel was coming along.  So I did ask.  Just like many of us, she admits that her brain has very little in the way of creative juices at the end of the workday. She set the novel aside for awhile, but was able to complete a first draft by switching to a screenplay format.  Now she has to find time (maybe when she needs to escape from the pressures of the presidency) to revise it again.  She has an affinity for Star Wars, having become addicted to the GFFA (Galaxy Far, Far, Away).  She began reading the Star Wars novels, which got her into writing (publishing stories under the name of Charlene Newcomb), which led her to AOL and chat rooms, where she discovered thousands of others who shared her enthusiasm.  She became part of a group of women who met for weekly chats about the novels and the original trilogy. Thirty women met in person for the first time in Las Vegas in 1997, and the group, which has grown to 80+ members, still meets annually. 

I would be remiss in not mentioning that this year is the 30th anniversary of the original Star Wars movie.  A huge gathering of over 30,000 people convened to celebrate the occasion in Los Angeles this past May.  Char and others in her group were able to work the convention as stage hand, green room wrangler, crowd control manager, and more, including “Team Cake.”  According to Char’s blog, volunteers worked tirelessly to prepare the many birthday cakes needed for the 6,000 fans who sang “Happy Birthday” to Star Wars on May 25, 2007.  And think about how many days Char had to refocus her attention to the NASIG conference, which started for her with a board meeting on May 30.  The woman is a trooper!

Char has created a Star Wars character, Alex (Alexandra) Winger, and in an exclusive interview with yours truly reveals that Alex has a cameo in Vision of the Future by novelist Timothy Zahn.  Star Wars enthusiasts have detailed her life (based on Char’s stories) fairly accurately on Wookieepedia (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Alex_Winger). 

Char and friend at at the UFO Watchtower in Hooper, Colorado.

Words are not the only things Char plays with.  In high school she played rhythm guitar and electronic organ for an all-girl rock band called “liberation.”  How many other catalogers have been members of rock bands?  She also loves to take photos with her digital camera.  She inherited the shutter bug from her dad, who was an avid still and 8- & 16-mm film photographer.  Thanks to her dad, there is a family history going back to 1943.  Char’s Flickr site has a large collection of family photos and she tells me that her two oldest children are carrying on the photo bug.

And speaking of children, I asked Char is she had become an empty nester yet.  She will be one as of August 19 when her youngest son, Jeff, heads off to college in Texas where he has a cheer scholarship.  He transferred there from K-State to improve his tumbling skills.  Jenny is a junior at K-State majoring in marketing and a team coach at a local gymnastics center.  Do I detect a theme here??  Char’s oldest son, Joel, is a video production editor in central Florida.  He has aspirations to write, direct and edit his own films.  Maybe mom will get him to turn her script (aka the novel) into a movie someday. Char is extremely proud of her brood, with good reason.   I found a May 2006 photo of the “kids.”

Char’s kids, left to right, Joel, Jenny, Jeff.  No wonder she’s proud!

 In her spare time she likes to garden. Char believes her thumb is not green so she looks for low maintenance plants like daylilies and perennials to fill her huge backyard.   She hopes to reduce the amount of grass she needs to mow to a mere ¼ of her yard.  My brother-in-law who is also a cataloger has the same idea.

I have to admit that while I’ve known Char professionally for years, I didn’t know her very well. She is up to some amazing things and clearly has the creative talent and energy to be a super NASIG President.  I encourage the membership to visit her blog and Flickr space frequently to keep up with this extraordinary woman.