Laurie Barker Copeland is very serious about her fun. Whether it’s her art, acting, writing or game-playing, her tagline has always been “Serious Fun.” Joy, laughter and fun are good for the mind, body and soul, so she’s serious about sharing it with others. With this in mind, she developed Joyopolis, a magazine style website that focuses on joy and joy-giving.
With a degree from Geneva College, she specialized in theatre, public relations and having a mischievously good time. She’s the co-author of The Groovy Chicks series and has written for many compilation books. She owns The Ferne Ruth Co, creates the handmade jewelry and sells online and at art and craft shows across the country. Her husband of 38 years, John, daughter Kailey, son-in-law Ryan and Russian Blue cat Fury make up her loved family.
Joyopolis is the culmination of Laurie’s talents: producer, actor, writer, artist, storyteller, and community builder. She laughingly calls herself the “Self-Appointed Mayor” and “Fun Maestro” at Joyopolis. She’s taken what life has taught her and now combines her love of serious fun, appreciation of community, and her journey to joy into a Seriously Fun Joyopolis website.
MEET OUR TEAM
I love BIG ideas. And Joyopolis is a great big idea! But honestly, putting all this together scared me… A LOT. So what’s a girl with limited time and technical skills do? Call her community! Joyopolis now has sixty-three volunteers pitching in make this available to you! I literally couldn’t do it without them!
Thirty-six of these volunteers are part of my P&P Team—a grass roots Prayer and Post team who agree to pray for and/or share Joyopolis with their friends, family and on their social media.
Here’s a group shot of my amazing local Joyopolis community.
Laurie
John Copeland (Webmaster, Advertising & Photographer)
John grew up on a Florida watermelon farm then married a northern city slicker by the name of Laurie. Together, they’ve been married for 38 years, and have an adult child, Kailey, son-in-law, Ryan and watermelon-sized Russian Blue cat named Fury. John owns a media production company, True House Media, with a focus on helping companies tell their stories. He is also a voice over actor and a commercial drone pilot, which blends in nicely with his production company. John enjoys traveling, photography and all things tech. Interesting fact--John was adopted at 3 days old by the Copelands, who took care of His birth mother while she was pregnant.
Stephanie Maughan (Team Coordinator, aka “Chief Cat Herder”)
Steph Maughan is a (most-of-the-time!) adept plate spinner! She juggles bookkeeping for her husband Steve's company, with President of the Central Florida Ladies tennis league, school related roles, and running a home of two gorgeous girls (Evie, Senior, and Pippa, 8th grade) and two crazy Golden Doodles (Maple and Toffee).
Before children, Steph worked her way up from research assistant to Brand Manager for a group of radio stations in the UK, enjoying the perks of the job, as most graduates in their 20's would! But starting a family and moving to the United States seventeen years ago was a welcome diversion from this career path and she has been keeping herself busy ever since.
She’s excited about adding Joyopolis to her agenda as Team Coordinator, aka Chief Cat Herder. This means she’s responsible for making sure the sixteen Joyopolis contributors get their material in on time, then she’s the one who actually posts the blogs and articles to the website.
Kim Winslow (Community Coordinator & Facebook Administrator)
You may have talked to our Community Coordinator, Kim Winslow, and not known it! She’s the kind voice who returns answers to your questions on our Contact Us form, and our Facebook Page Administrator.
Kim’s married 38 years to husband Eric and together, they have four grown children. She lived in Alaska for 18 years, where Eric was a commercial salmon fisherman. In 2001, they moved to Central Florida, but spend their summers in Alaska, still chasing the salmon! They say they have the best of both worlds now, leaving Alaska when it gets cold, and leaving Florida as the summer heat sets in!
She looks forward to talking to you!
Sherry Davis Hires (Blog Coordinator)
Sherry Davis Hires: une femme d’un certain age; Jesus-follower since age 10; lawyer. Married to tall, dark, and handsome husband who is an accomplished amateur chef; mother of beautiful, witty, daughter; companion of a 15- pounds- of- ferociousness terrier named Hercules. Voracious reader; rememberer of arcane/ useless trivia; Francophile; lapsed piano player; former foreign language major; unrepentant wearer of Rod Stewart hairdo for longer than it was really fashionable (no, it was NOT a mullet!). Has tried and enjoyed fencing, parasailing, and hot air ballooning, as well as snails, sheep/goat cheese, and various preparations of Brussels Sprouts. Detester of group text messages; staunch proponent of the Oxford comma. Currently embarked on a journey to becoming a kinder, gentler person who loves with the love of the Lord and finds Joy each and every day.
Melissa Caldie (Social Media)
Melissa is a stay at home mama of two - a 4 year old and a 1 year old. She graduated from Rosen College at the University of Central Floria with a bachelors degree in Event and Hospitality management. Her husband is in the Air Force which has allowed them to travel quite a bit, living in Hawaii, Florida, and now Wyoming. Melissa’s joy comes from crafting and working with her hands. She also really enjoys spending time outdoors hiking, skiing, and playing with her kiddos.
Denise Modomo (Fun Pick of the Week)
Denise loves to laugh. She says laughing is one of the few things in life she doesn’t have to be in the mood for; it just comes naturally! (Cleaning, paperwork and writing are a different story.) She was hotly pursued by Joyopolis Mayor Laurie, because of her adept skill as The Joy Hunter—she LOVES finding funny videos/memes and sharing them with friends to make them laugh! She is the one who brings us our weekly Joy Pick of the Week on our Joyopolis home page.
She graduated from Longwood University in Farmville, VA with a degree in Exercise Science. After graduation, she married a handsome Hawaiian, Lyndon. They have four children ranging from 14 to 29. Her interests include health and fitness, Bible study, shopping and dancing. One of her greatest strengths lies within people; we not only call her the Joy Hunter because she’s so good at finding “funnies”, but also because she loves to help people in need. Oh yes, and she loves to hunt for good shopping deals!
Denise Noriega (Audience Procurement)
Denise is a claims associate with Farmers Insurance, and with Joyopolis, she does audience procurement. She and her husband of 31 years, Lance, have two adult children, Lauren and Matthew. She loves to spend time with her family and friends creating special memories and loves coffee, travel, taking pictures, entertaining, and figuring out how things work!
Bios and pictures for the following will be listed on their own page:
Bloggers, Recipe authors, Organizer, Care Team, Giving Back, Store Artists.