Introducing. . .LAURA YOUNG

Title/position/responsibilities at Barbour: Executive Administrative Assistant/Rights & Permissions Coordinator. I work as an assistant to Tim Martins, Barbour's Chairman & CEO, and George Kourkounakis, President. I also work with the editorial staff to prepare and process author contracts, advance payments, author/agent book copies and subrights income statements. Additionally, I administer rights and permissions requests as well as foreign translation contracts.

How long have you worked at Barbour? I started at Barbour in April, 2007. Hard to believe it’s been almost a year but it has been one of my best years ever!

What has been the biggest change you’ve seen in your years with the company? I haven’t been here long enough to see too many changes but I can say that it makes a huge difference in the workplace environment when you are working for and with folks who have Christ in the forefront of their lives! I have worked in some hairy, scary environments and it is such a blessing to wake up each morning and be excited to get to work!

What are your dreams for Barbour’s near future? (Next five years.) I am confident that Barbour will continue to be successful in its mission to provide great books at affordable prices for those who are in need of finding a relationship with Christ or who need to grow in their walk with the Lord. I hope that the Barbour atmosphere can stay a close-knit family unit even with the growth potential that may come in the future.

What is your favorite task associated with your job description? Least favorite? I love seeing all the author’s hard work come together in a great finished product and I wish I could just read all the time! I also enjoy helping to select and send out materials to meet the needs of others who contact us for donations. Their requests and responses are so encouraging and heartwarming! So far, I would have to say that I don’t have a least favorite task--I even enjoy filing now that I’m doing it electronically!

What project is consuming your energies this month? My project this month is to continue to work on the archive library which contains all of the books that Barbour has published. Each book has to be labeled and entered into a database before it is placed in storage. There are a LOT of books!

Do you ever find time to read for pleasure? If so, what book have you read recently? I love to read but when I get my nose in a book, the outside world ceases to exist--much to the dismay of my husband, kids and animals who get hungry! I recently began to try reading a different author each weekend while waiting between games at my daughter’s basketball tournaments. So far I’ve been able to read Mary Connealy, Wanda Brunstetter, Kim Vogel Sawyer, Diann Mills, Kathleen Y’Barbo, M.L. Tyndall and Christine Lynxwiler. There are so many to choose from and they keep writing more books! I keep telling my family that this is research for work. . .

Can you tell us briefly about your family? I will be married to my husband Greg for 20 years this July and we have two children, Adam 17 and Naomi 12, who are both very active and keep us running in circles.

What church do you attend? I attend Christ Community Church in Dellroy, Ohio. It is a non-denominational church with a wonderful pastor and church family. I sing in the choir, play piano for Sunday services once a month and serve as the clerk for the church board.

Do you have a favorite quote that motivates you these days? No favorite quote at the moment. I’m still just so thankful that God chose to lead me out of a difficult job situation (that I might add I put myself into because I did not wait on the Lord!) and land me here at Barbour--that is all the motivation I need right now.