Tara Bender was born and raised in Indiana and holds dear all things Midwest. After graduating from Taylor University in Upland, Ind. in 2006, she spent three years in Nashville, Tenn. as a middle school English teacher. Now as a journalism graduate student at Indiana University, she enjoys writing for H&L and designing materials for various organizations in Bloomington. When she's not being a busy journalist, she's usually crafting, riding her bike, or having adventures with her Labradoodle, Gretta.

Pete DiPrimio is a Bloomington resident and H&L writer who was born near Pittsburgh, Pa., back when real men never ate quiche. He's a huge Steelers fan, but tries to hide his Pirates affection given their long-time ineptitude. His favorite part about writing for H&L is meeting the various homeowners and personalities. They all have interesting stories to tell. He's an award-winning sports writer/columnist who has written six books two on IU basketball and one on IU baseball, plus children's books on Tom Brady, Eli Manning and Ancient Rome. He's a fitness enthusiast, understanding that one person's dedication (can you say 2012 Olympics?) is another's obsession (wife doesn't understand).

Jackie Sheckler Finch became a Hoosier more than 20 years ago when she moved to Indiana from Massachusetts for a newspaper job. She covered city government and other areas for The Herald-Times until she left in 2001 for my own personal odyssey. Editor of H&L since its inception four years ago, Jackie is also author of five award-winning travel books and is currently working on The Insiders Guide to Nashville for Globe Pequot, along with being the H-T travel writer. A Bloomington resident, she enjoys taking to the road to find the fascinating people and places that wait over the hill and around the next bend. She always looks forward to returning home to her resident watchdog and entertainer, Pepper, and to discovering the wonderful stories in her own hometown.

An Indiana girl to the core, Kathryn Gardiner was born in Muncie where she was raised with her three older brothers and several pets. She received her bachelor's degree in Telecommunications from Ball State University, and earned her master's degree in Screenwriting from Hollins University in Roanoke, Va. She began calling Bloomington home in 2006 and has been with H&L magazine since July 2007. Her favorite part of working as content/layout coordinator is choosing photographs to complement the great stories H&L features each issue. Away from the office, she spends most of her free time training in boxing, jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai and mixed martial arts.

Having moved from the northeast to Indiana at age 11, Lee Hadley is an exotic species but hopefully not an invasive one. Although a full-time computer programmer, Lee has somehow managed to parlay his love of hiking and camping throughout southern Indiana into a weekly outdoors column in The Herald-Times and has written features for the H-T, Adventure Indiana, and H&L magazine. He holds a firm belief that "specialization is for insects" and his many interests include maple syrup production, wood working in the garage and bragging on his son Alex.

When not designing the pages of H&L magazine, Dennis Laffoon is the creative services manager for the Hoosier-Times Newspaper Group. He is also an ordained minister and pastors Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in New Albany, Ind. Dennis is married, with three children ages 10, 9, and 1 who bring him and his wife Rochelle much joy. He enjoys great music, good food, and movies that make you think. His creativity is matched only by his ability to exude calm in the midst of a storm.

As president and publisher of the Hoosier Times newspapers in Bloomington, Bedford, Martinsville and Mooresville, Mayer Maloney spends a lot of time driving north and south on Ind. 37. He re-joined the Herald-Times in 2002 which is where he started his newspaper career as a 10-year-old paperboy for the former Bloomington Herald-Telephone and he worked as a reporter at the H-T while at IU. Mayer is married to Carol, his sweetheart from their days at University High School, and he serves on boards and committees in Monroe, Lawrence and Morgan counties.

A native Hoosier with family ties throughout Indiana, Brooke Toole McCluskey is the marketing manager for The Herald-Times and H&L. Brooke works with the content, layout and advertising staffs to maintain the identity of H&L, which she describes as "friendly, a bit of a secret, heartwarming and very Indiana." Her favorite part of the H&L process is receiving the magazine in the mail at home and seeing it as if for the first time. Brooke enjoys hiking, camping, visiting the Bloomington Farmers Market, reading books with her young daughter, and playing so much Scrabble she dreams about it.

Dana Dyer Pierson starting calling Bloomington home in 1998. Since then, she's served as artistic director for Windfall Dancers and has worked with the Bloomington Playwrights Project. She is an accomplished playwright, designer, actor, producer and director, and brings each of these perspectives to her theatrical reviews for The Herald-Times. As president of Mind's Ear Audio Productions, she co-produced the official audio tour for Arlington National Cemetery, and dozens of other projects for the federal government. An entrepreneurial soul, Dana is also a Pure Romance consultant, freelance editor, voice talent and travel agent. She writes about wine for The Herald-Times, and encourages all wine lovers to discover our bountiful Indiana wine country. Like her husband Joel, she cherishes their precious free time. She loves to travel, lounge by their koi pond, and take adventures with their beautiful borzoi.

Joel Pierson has been a resident of Bloomington for 10 years, and is still finding things to love about the area. In addition to writing for H&L, he is a regular contributor to The Herald-Times and Business Network. His interests include theatre, writing, editing, and audio production. He is the artistic director of Mind's Ear Audio Productions, one of the country's most respected small studios. He is the author of two books, French Quarter and Mourning Lori, both published locally. In his seven minutes of free time a week, he enjoys relaxing with wife and fellow H&L journalist Dana, and their three lovely hounds.

Born in Florida and raised in Ohio, Pete Schreiner made Indiana home in 1996. He graduated from the Ohio Institute of Photography of Technology and started work with The Herald-Times in Bloomington in 2000 as an advertising photographer. A change to The Times-Mail in Bedford in 2003 took him into the role of photojournalist, a position he still holds while snapping photos for H&L magazine. Pete lives in Bedford with his wife Christie, stepdaughter Maranna, and two dogs named Boo and Miracle.

Holly Thrasher is a native of Indiana, but is still fairly new to the south-central region of the state. She has written for Phi Delta Kappan, Educational Horizons, The Teacher Educator, eHow.com, The Herald-Times, South-Central Indiana Bride's Guide, and BizNet. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in secondary education from Ball State University and maintains a teaching license in speech communication, theater and English.

Holly has a self-described "unnatural love for fonts," and enjoys cooking, walking, and spending time with her spectacular friends and family (including two cats). She likes her coffee black.