Cecil Stokes

Cecil Stokes founded Tentmakers Entertainment in 1999. He has executive produced and/or produced more than 1500 television shows for the following networks: A&E, Court TV, DIY Network, ESPN, Fine Living, Food Network, HGTV, History Channel, TNN, the Travel Channel and Turner South. For his television programming, Cecil has won Cable Ace, Communicator, New York Film Festival, and Telly awards. He also won an Emmy for his work on the show “Blue Ribbon.” www.tentmakersentertainment.com

In 2004, Tentmakers Entertainment began work on their first independent documentary film “A Man Named Pearl.” AMNP tells the inspiring story of self-taught topiary artist Pearl Fryar. It is a subtle and intriguing film that has opened hearts and minds. It offers an upbeat message that speaks to respect for both self and others, and shows what a person can achieve when he allows himself to share the full expression of his humanity. “A Man Named Pearl” was awarded the Crystal Heart Award for Inspiration at the Heartland Film Festival and also was accepted to the Palm Springs Film Festival. AMNP is currently playing in 70 cities across the United States.

Tentmakers Entertainment recently completed “Children of All Ages,” a documentary that pays loving tribute to one of the greatest American institutions, the traveling circus. CAA offers an unprecedented look at life “under the canvas” from some of the greatest living Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey performers.

Cecil’s mantra in life is “To Whom Much is Given, Much is Expected.” To that end, he created Amazon Expeditions and the Amazon Initiative. Amazon Expeditions is an Adventure Travel Company and Eco-Lodge that offers Amazon River vacations and excursions for a cause. AE exists as a vehicle to raise money for community aid and development projects for at-risk communities in the northeastern Amazon region of Peru. A portion of the money raised from these adventure-vacations is used to provide solar power, wells for pure drinking water, medical missions and college education funding. This mission is to provide hope, sustainable energy and medical relief to the people of the Amazon River basin through tourism in the region. The Amazon Initiative is an independently incorporated non-profit organization with these same goals. www.amazonexpeditions.com

Cecil is a published poet and is working on a collection of short stories as well as co-authoring his first novel with Christy Award Winner Ann Tatlock.

After attending several CBA writer’s conferences this year, Cecil began www.bookpreview.com - a company that produces Christian book trailers.

Deborah Raney

DEBORAH RANEY is at work on her seventeenth novel. Her books have won the RITA Award, the HOLT Medallion, National Readers' Choice Award and Silver Angel from Excellence in Media. Her newest books are the Clayburn Novels from Howard Books/Simon & Schuster. Deb serves on the advisory board of American Christian Fiction Writers. She and her husband, Ken Raney, have four children and enjoy small-town life in Kansas.

Deborah's first novel, A Vow to Cherish, inspired the World Wide Pictures film of the same title. The made-for-television movie aired in 200 major markets in September 1999 and again in December 2004. The film won a Silver Angel, a bronze Omni Award and a Gold Special Jury Award at the WorldFest Houston International Film Festival. It is now available on video and on DVD in seven languages. See photos of the Hollywood PREMIERE of A VOW TO CHERISH Ken and Deborah attended in June 1999. Visit Deb on the Web at www.deborahraney.com

Carole Whang Schutter

Carole Whang Schutter was born and raised in Honolulu , Hawaii . She graduated with a degree in Psychology from the University of Hawaii and is an evangelical Christian. Carole has been a motivational speaker to live audiences, and on TV and radio shows. She now occupies her time writing, skiing, and hiking in Aspen . Her enduring interest in religion and passion for history led her to write “September Dawn,” her first screenplay written in collaboration with Director/Producer Christopher Cain which inspired the novel “September Dawn.” She has optioned a second screenplay and is currently working on several screenplays, an inspirational book, and a historical fiction family saga that takes place in her home state Hawaii .

Biography of Creative Director, Jeffrey J. Varab 

Jeffrey J. Varab started his career at The Disney Animation Studios in 1977, where he was trained by Eric Larson, one of Disney’s original “9 Old Men”.  Varab has worked on over 15 major feature films starting with “Tron” (1980), “The Fox and the Hound” (1982), “The Black Cauldron” (1984), and the special effects/live action film “The Black Hole.”  

In 1982, Varab produced and directed several films for his first company, Varab-Stegelmann Productions, based in Denmark, where in 1986 “Valhalla” won critical acclaim and the Special Recognition Award at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.  For the next four years, Varab headed up Steven Spielberg’s AMBLIN Animation in London and Supervised Animation with Don Bluth in Dublin Ireland, working on “All Dogs go to Heaven,” “Rock-A-Doodle,” “Fern Gully the last Rain Forest” and “A Troll in Central Park.”  While at AMBLIN, Varab worked on such titles as “The Land Before Time” (1988), “We’re back, a Dinosaurs Story” (1992) and “Balto” (1994).  

Varab then returned to the states to work on the Amblin/Universal film “Casper” (1995) at the George Lucas facility ILM (Industrial Light and Magic), where he was first introduced and trained in computer generated (CG) animation.  Varab has continued to work in both CG and traditional animation on films such as “Mulan” (1997), “Titan A.E.” (2000),
“Eight Crazy Nights,” (2002). As well as co-authoring the original story for Disney’s “Brother Bear” (2003).

Kathi Macias

Kathi Macias, popular speaker and prolific author, is an Angel-award winning writer who has published twenty-one books and hundreds of articles, and also served as editor for Carole Whang Schutter’s book SEPTEMBER DAWN, based on the movie by the same name. Whether keyboarding her latest book, keynoting a conference or retreat, or riding on the back of her husband's Harley, Kathi “Easy Writer” Macias is a lady on a mission to communicate God’s vision. Her insightful words—filled with passion, humor, and soul nourishment—refresh audiences from all walks of life, and her Spanish devotionals, “Desde el Corazon del Padre,” (with English translations) can be found on Crosswalk.com. Her newest book, BEYOND ME: LIVING A YOU-FIRST LIFE IN A ME-FIRST WORLD, is scheduled for a July 1 release from New Hope Publishers, and her novel EMMA JEAN REBORN has been optioned as a Broadway play and is currently in the scriptwriting process. For more information, visit http://www.kathimacias.com/.