User:Randall Ormond/sandbox

Randy Edward Jernigan (b. September 7, 1961 in El Campo, Texas) is best known as a celebrity journalist, fiction writer, television news writer, and food writer for several national magazines. His first book titled, This Thing Called Love: Love Stories to Gladden the Heart and Warm the Soul, became a cult classic in short fiction. Jernigan hosted a radio talk show from 1998 to 2000, interviewing celebrities, religious, and political figures. The show aired through twenty-five U.S. markets.

He was born Randy Edward Jernigan on September 7, 1961, in El Campo, Texas, shortly after the family moved back to their Florida home. His parents were Curtis Edward and Barbara Jean Jernigan of northwest Florida. Randy was raised as an Evangelical Christian. In 1980 Randy converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the urging of then close friend and mentor, President Spencer W. Kimball. His controversial conversion to the LDS faith caused a much publicized rift between Jernigan and his staunchly religious family. Jernigan's grandfather was a minister in the Assemblies of God Church  based in Century, Florida. Shortly after Jernigan's two year missionary service in Utah he returned home an took a position as a siminary teacher for the LDS Church teaching doctrine and Church history to church high school age youths. After two years in that position Jernigan became the Siminaries and Institute Director for the region located at the University of West Florida in Pensacola. Jernigan later served as the Church's Public Affairs Coordinator for the North West Florida Area. In 1995 a television documentary was produced and broadcast by Four-Point Entertainment and the USA Cable Network titled "Case Closed" starring actor Stacey Keech, telling the story of the murder of Betty Martin, Barbara Jernigan's sister. The family participated in the production but was very critical of the final product when it was broadcast. In 1996 Randy and his family relocated from Florida to Utah where he took a part time position in the LDS Church's Historical Department working as a content writer and a full-time position for the State of Utah.

Career-wise since 1996, Jernigan claims a best selling book of short fiction, hundreds of published articles in national and international life-style magazines, lecture tours (usually speaking on creative writing as a carer) and a 2 year stint as a syndicated radio talk show host. Jernigan also wrote and produced feature segments for television news programs such as Paramount Studio's Hardcopy, 48 Hours, ABC's 20/20, 60 Minutes and American Journal. In 2007 Jernigan founded the Writer's Studio of Utah, an organization that educates, publishes, and promotes the talents of writers. In December 2007 Jernigan announced that he would release an unauthorized biography of singer and actress Marie Osmond but the project was shelved several times because of threats from Osmond fans and negative press attention. In 2012 Jernigan announced that he was continueing the project and would publish it at its completion. In 2012 Jernigan wrote and sold a screenplay of one of his short stories titled "Dinner for Two" to a major cable network and in 2013 sold The Writers Studio of Utah to become a partner in Creative Partners Publishing, a news distribution and publishing house. Randy is expected to release “Losing To Win” in the fall of 2013, a diet cook book which includes the story of his dramatic weight-loss (155 pounds). He also plans on producing and distributing a documentary by the same title. In June 2013 Jernigan launched Life and Letters Digest, an online news  magazine centering on writers and the publishing world. Life and Letters Digest is produced by Creative Partners Publishing with Google. Besides his freelance writing career, Jernigan continues to be employed by the State of Utah.