MEMBER SPOTLIGHT | NOVEMBER 2001

Cara Skodack Day: Tapping the Keyboard of Life

BY KIM BROERS

Looking at the alabaster skin and petite frame topped by a mass of curls, it will be difficult for fellow AWC members to feel pity for Cara Skodack Day when she laments her youthful lot: Seen as a veritable child, a prep school pretender, a pre-college whippersnapper attempting to run with the big (older) dogs.

But Cara is no Jenna Bush, no lightweight party girl trying to slip into a bar on a fake ID. Behind the youthful facade is a complex, mature woman who is markedly grounded and wise for her years. All 24 of them.

For more than two years, Cara has been working for the national headquarters of the Ladies Auxiliary VFW, a fraternal, patriotic women's organization. She is the editor of the Auxiliary national magazine, which has a circulation of nearly 700,000. As editor for a nonprofit, she handles not only writing and editorial tasks, but essentially serves as the magazine's advertising director.

She does much more than that, working closely with her graphic designer, traveling to a variety of conferences and even taking photographs when necessary. She is the magazine's organizing force, armed with her PalmPilot, cell phone, numerous calendars and a memory that puts one in mind of her predecessor. Despite, perhaps because of, her youth, she is ON TOP of things. Given the airy mental realms in which her fellow editor sometimes wanders, her talents and discipline are not only rare and appreciated; they are necessary.

I can vouch for that, as I am the editor-in-chief of the same publication, and I am the one who hired Cara. Straight out of college. Or, if strict truth be told, straight almost out of college: Cara had a few more hours to finish up at the time I offered her the job. This is not a detail I shared with my own boss at the time. Which just goes to point up an interesting part of the hiring process: It's a personal, intuitive decision in the end, after skills and personality are assessed.

There was a stack of résumés to weed through and a number of candidates for the job who seemed well-qualified. I interviewed the top prospects, seeking to replace a near-irreplaceable person: Marilyn Ebersole, whose name you will recognize. Marilyn was retiring, I was bumping up to her position as editor-in-chief, and I needed a very sharp individual if I was to have any hope at all of carrying on the commendable two-woman job Marilyn and I had been doing for 15 years.

Cara did not yet have her degree, she was very young, and she looked even younger. Moreover, she did not have the writing background of some of the candidates.

I hired her. While no single reason stands out in my mind, I just flat out preferred Cara to all the others. Our communication styles seemed compatible, and she struck me not as the person with the most knowledge, but the individual most likely to learn on her feet.

Boy, am I good. Hiring her has to rank as one of my all-time best professional decisions. Like no one since my little sister, she appears to follow my tangential, oblique verbal flights of fancy. She's reliable, she's responsible, and she has her degree now... a B.S. in journalism with an emphasis in newspaper copy editing. (It's true that newspapers and magazines require different approaches, but Cara has proven to be flexible and open-minded. And she doesn't scream too loudly when I edit her copy.)

Interestingly, she comes from a musical family: Her father plays clarinet; his father plays the saxophone and clarinet in big bands (at 80-something); his mother was a dancer who played string bass and was first chair bass in the orchestra at the esteemed Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan.

Cara, who has lived all over the country, also attended Interlochen (she sings and plays flute), where a wonderful English teacher helped her discover her love for writing. "All of a sudden," she recalls, "four hours in a practice room every day for the rest of my life didn't seem right.

"I love everything about what I do," she says in describing her job. Then, in that careful, measured way she has, she continues, "I could do without some of the unique struggles that accompany working for a nonprofit organization."
It's hard to say if Cara's circumspection is a recent adaptation to the sometimes political and messy world of work or a part of her inherent, reserved nature. She is a devout Christian, someone who truly lives her faith: She refrains from negative remarks about others, is good-natured and does not proselytize. Her faith is part of who she is.

"I don't remember a time when I didn't believe in God," she reflects. "One of my earliest memories is driving to church and thinking about God. I think about Him even more now. He is the compass in my life... I rely on Him, and He never fails."

In her spare time, Cara runs, hikes, scrapbooks, sews and reads, reads, reads. Oh, yes, and dreams of adding to her family. Currently, she and husband Eric have two "children," two rescued Brittany pups. She would like MORE, and she would also love to start a family of less furry babies. For my own sake, I selfishly hope she will wait a while.