Rick and Cindy Stroud

Cambridge Who’s Who^® member Cindy Soltis-Stroud was recently featured in Auctioneer magazine for her successful auction business, which focuses on raising money for nonprofit organizations. She is also a newly minted member of the National Auctioneers Association. While her career only began in 2008, she has received awards for her achievements in the auction field and competed in the International Auctioneer Championship. She is currently promoting more charity auctions in addition to the auction business she runs with her husband, Rick Stroud.

Together, Mrs. Soltis-Stroud and her husband run Blue Fox Auction & Consulting, based in Boerne, Texas. The business specializes in charity auctions and sets itself apart by incorporating ISO 2001, an internationally recognized set of guidelines that aids in efficiency and fair practices. According to the article in Auctioneer, Mrs. Soltis-Stroud believes that Blue Fox Auction & Consulting is the only auction business that subscribes to this global standardization process. In addition to their auction business, the couple also works as full-time manufacturing auditors.

Cindy Soltis-Stroud believes that using her auction business to raise money for nonprofit organizations provides a helpful service to the community. “I really like working with people, and especially helping nonprofit [organizations] do better,” she states in Auctioneer. “I like to help the organizations maximize their profits. It allows us to have a career and also do some community service.”

Blue Fox Auction & Consulting boasts two auctioneers with Benefit Auctioneer Specialist designations, and prides itself on developing new and creative ideas to help nonprofit organizations maximize their profits. Their next event will take place in September in San Antonio, Texas, the seventh largest city in the country. The event, “For the Love of  Kids and Harleys,” is one of the biggest fundraisers in San Antonio, and raises money for several children’s charities, including Friends of Ronald McDonald House and Easter Seals. For more information or to contact Blue Fox Auction & Consulting, please complete this online form.

Blue Fox Auctions & Consulting

Cindy Soltis-Stroud can also be found on Facebook.

The event centered on a Bible sent to Lincoln by Amos King, who was so moved by Lincoln’s Farewell Address delivered in Springfield, Illinois right before he left for Washington, DC to begin his work as the new President of the United States in 1861. Lincoln said:

“I go to assume a task more difficult than that which devolved upon General Washington. Unless the great God who assisted him shall be with and aid me, I must fail. But if the same omniscient mind, and the same Almighty arm that directed and protected him, shall guide and support me, I shall not fail. I shall succeed.”

Upon reading these words in his local paper, King was inspired to send his own symbol of faith in the form of a Bible, which was printed by Charles John Clay of the Cambridge University Press in England. Not to be confused with Lincoln’s inaugural Bible (which was used by President Obama at his own inauguration), the King Bible appears to have been specifically ordered for this occasion. King stated in his letter to Lincoln that in response to his request for “divine assistance in the execution” of the new presidency, “the donor begs leave to present to his Excellency, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States of America, this Bible as a small token of the high esteem and kind regard in which the giver holds the honored recipient.”

Photo Courtesy of Hildene, The Lincoln Family Home, Manchester, VT

Amos King, the grandson of the first white settler of Mentz, came from a respected family of military veterans and lawyers. King later worked on the Erie Canal as a boatman before becoming a successful farmer. Relatives of King still live in the area.

The King Bible was passed down to Lincoln’s only child to live to adulthood, Robert Todd Lincoln, and remained in the family for three generations. It is currently in the possession of Hildene-The Lincoln Family Home, Manchester, VT, which proudly reunited the Bible with the Port Byron community for this event.

Ms. Roe, who served as the Mistress of Ceremonies at the event, hopes to see a future president take the Oath of Office using the King Bible in her lifetime.

Cambridge Who’s Who

Originally planned as a memoir, “Ask Me No Questions” tells the story of Stephani Stevenson– someone who enjoys living a life of privacy– only to discover that she has been duped by Victor Charles Brian, who falsely claimed to be a CIA operative to apprehend her. When she uncovers the truth, Brian threatens her life and she realizes she must find a way to escape from his grasp. She eventually flees with her children, knowing that she could be found at any time.

When presenting her novel to publishers, Ms. Miller was told that the story was “too hot,” so she retooled it as a fiction novel. The book has been an unexpected hit among teen girls and it sends a message for them to stand up and protect themselves from domestic violence. She hopes to make the book available in libraries across the country. Presently, the book can be purchased on Amazon.com or through the Publish America Website.

In addition to promoting her writing, Ms. Miller also uses her speaking engagements to share her firsthand experience with domestic violence. She considers herself to be an advocate for victims of abuse and has held speaking engagements in several venues, reaching an array of audiences including high school and college students as well as medical professionals, social workers and religious organizations.

However, her real passion is talking about the creative process behind writing. She says that writing “requires concentration and yet an opening, a letting go, of the logical mind. It requires skill and a willingness to break the rules, to think outside the box. Writing, and all art, is constantly evolving, so what is accepted today may be passé tomorrow.” Her dream is to teach writing at the university level and to develop a “community of writers” who respect and embrace the process.

Cindie Miller lives in Lake Havasu, Arizona. Born in Northern California “when people relied on people and technology as we know it today was only imagined by the likes of Ray Bradbury and Isaac Asimov,” she once aspired to become an actress and performed in several community theater productions.

For more information about her, or to book an appearance, please visit Cindie Miller’s Website ; also, follow her blog at www.cindiemiller.org.