Once upon a time, long ago . . . (1994) in a
faraway land . . . (Dallas, Texas) there lived a fair young princess whose name was
Valerie. Now Valerie had been assigned by her teacher to make two posters and bring them
to school with her the next day. (Even princesses had to do homework assignments!)
As was her habit, Princess Valerie appealed to her mother, Queen Mary,
to help her by preparing the poster boards. For in those days, poster boards throughout
the kingdom were very primitive with no guide lines at all! Those who created posters
without first measuring and drawing light pencil lines had lettering that ran uphill or
downhill. So, the queen stayed up late preparing two poster boards with a fine pencil grid
so that the young princess could create beautiful posters.
Alas! Just when the queen
had almost finished the second poster board, the princess let out a cry of dismay! She had
misjudged her spacing and spoiled the first board. Now the queen had to start all over and
prepare yet another poster board for her. The queen missed the entire Jay Leno show while
preparing the boards for the princess.
Upon finishing the grid on the last poster board, the queen retired to
her chamber and fell into a deep sleep. In the middle of the night, she was jolted awake
by a vivid dream. In her dream, Queen Mary saw a poster board with a "ghosted"
grid printed upon it. "Why haven't I thought of this before?," she cried.
"This is the answer!"
Early the next day, the queen called upon her sister, Princess Barbara,
who lived in the same kingdom. "We must invent this poster board," she said.
"Every man, woman and child in the kingdom needs it. We shall call it "Ghostline�.
" Her sister agreed, and they set off together to invent this wonderful new poster
board.
When "Ghostline�" poster board was
presented, all the subjects in the kingdom came out to see it for it was
"magic!" The lines were clearly visible, allowing even small children to create
beautiful posters all by themselves. But, once the drawing or lettering was on the board,
the lines seemed to disappear!
"Ghostline�" was soon presented in
different sizes, colors (even neon's!) and on foam boards, project boards and
make-a-poster kits. It was decreed that all other poster board would now be obsolete.
Queen Mary, her sister, Princess Barbara and all the loyal
subjects in the kingdom lived happily ever after with "Ghostline�,"
the poster board that takes work out of making posters.
The End
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Barbara Russell Pitts has a background in personnel and charitable
organizations and is the mother of one daughter. Since her father and
brother are patent-holders in addition to the patents held by herself and
her sister, Barbara feels that creativity is a �family affair�. Spending
her time working with her sister and reaching out to fellow inventors is
the fulfillment of her �dream job�. Barbara�s favorite quotation is, �Our
beliefs about what we are and what we can be precisely determine what we
will be.� Anthony Robbins |
Mary
Russell Sarao is a former schoolteacher and the mother of two daughters.
Her innovative way of thinking goes back to her early childhood when she
invented the toys that she wanted but didn�t have. Throughout her growing
up years, Mary was a �problem solver� whose friends sought her out for
solutions. She has always been involved in finding ways to make the world
around her better. Mary is the current vice-president of the Texas
Inventors Association and serves on The Board of Directors of The United
Inventors Association. Her favorite quotation is, �Imagination is more
important than knowledge, for knowledge is limited, whereas imagination is
limitless.� - Albert Einstein |
The two sisters co-invented Ghostline�,
the poster board with the �ghosted� grid that eliminates the need to measure
and draw lines before beginning a poster project. Ghostline�
sales, which top $8 million per year, can be found in all major discount and
drug outlets as well as catalogs that sell directly to schools.
Mary and Barbara manage their website,
www.asktheinventors.com, where they offer free guidance in matters related
to inventing. They speak in the Dallas area to civic organizations, schools,
adult education classes, leadership classes and at educational seminars.
Along with fourteen other inventors across the
country, Mary and Barbara were featured in the documentary film, �Big Idea�,
scheduled for release in February 2002.
In 2001, they held their first annual Ghostline�
Poster Contest through their website. The subject was, �My favorite inventor,
what he/she invented and why the invention was important.� They received
entries from across America and the contest judges, in addition to themselves,
were Joanne Hayes-Rines, Publisher/Editor, Inventors� Digest Magazine, Robert
Lougher, Executive Director, UIAUSA and Donald Grant Kelly, CEO, Academy of
Applied Science, Inc.
Beginning
in 2002, they are joining efforts with the Academy of Applied Science, Inc. in
promotion of the Academy�s Meant to Invent� and Young Inventors�
Program�.
