Teresa Shafer – Pitch Week XXVI Winner

As an Army sniper, Steven has seen his share of death. He chose to be a sniper because at least then, he knew that his target had done something worthy of his bullet. Still, he had to shut off some of his humanity to be that man, and that made being what others perceive as ‘normal’ difficult. It did not help that his conscience constantly nagged him. He stuck close to what he knew, that was the Army and his friends. That is its own kind of isolation, living in a microcosm community. But Steven has done 25-years and is now lining up his final shot before retiring himself and his beloved rifle. At home, in the states, he has the wife and children that he always wanted and who are waiting for him. But he wonders, if after all that he has done in this life that he has chosen, is he still the husband and father that they need or want. Can he be that man? There is a lot to consider, while he waits.

Teresa M. Shafer lives as far as one can get from Reno, Nevada and still be in the city limits. She has travelled much and lived in several states but has always come home to her home in the foothills of Peavine Mountain. She has always been creative, writing, drawing, painting or just creating something new out of something used. This quintessential cat lady loves to include her fuzzy children in all of her projects, but they are usually only interested in what’s for dinner.

“Being a child of Nevada, certain trains of thought will always influence my thinking. I saw the Pitch Week process as a gamble, an expensive one. The expense being mostly in what I wanted to wager of myself, the financial part is just a given in any gamble. But putting yourself into the pot, now that is a risky business. The risk was well worth it. I had won, even before I won. The insight, knowledge, friendships, and growth, that I personally experienced is priceless. Now, I just need to pay it forward.”

Meet our other Pitch Week XXVI finalists here.