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Our Team of Regular Correspondents

Amadé Perrig

Amadé Perrig was born on January 29th, 1946 near Zermatt (Matterhorn) in the Swiss mountains. He spent his youth on skis during the winters and in the summer he took care of the family cows and goats in the high mountains of Switzerland. He began mountain climbing at the age of 14. During his student years, he climbed the most difficult mountains in the Alps, but he also had several accidents. When he was 16 he fell into a crevasse and four years later an avalanche pulled him down the mountain for around 800 feet. In 1968 he fell approximately 80 ft. while he was climbing in the Berner Oberland, Switzerland. He broke his legs, knees and back and spent many weeks in the hospital in Bern. His legs were set in a cast for a half a year. He has climbed the Matterhorn over 15 times. 1995 he climbed his "home mountain" for the last time. That day he led the American astronaut, Jeff Hoffman and the Swiss astronaut, Claude Nicollier to the top of the Matterhorn. In addition to mountaineering, he played soccer and ice hockey, did hiking and bicycling. But skiing was his favorite sport. However, while ski racing, he broke his legs so often, it became impossible to succeed in international ski races.

After finishing primary school and college in his home mountain State of Valais, he studied economics at the University in Bern, Switzerland. After completing his business economy study at the University in Bern, Switzerland, he worked in a tourism planning office, specializing in the planning of ski resorts in Switzerland. From 1972 – 1974, he taught skiing in the United States and was a Tourism Consultant for the planning of ski areas in the USA. He was based in Lake Tahoe and visited most ski areas in United States.

From 1974 - 1999, he was the President of Tourism in Saas-Fee (Switzerland) and Zermatt (Switzerland). Zermatt and "his" Matterhorn is one of the largest summer and winter sports resorts of Europe. As a CEO of Zermatt, he was in charge of the entire resort, which includes over 70 cable cars, 118 hotels, over 7'000 apartments, over 300 restaurants and many sports facilities, such as tennis, golf, swimming, hiking, biking, etc. All of these facilities, hotels, apartments, and lift companies are privately owned, but operate under the umbrella organization, which he managed.

In 1999, he quit his full time job in Zermatt and became semi-retired. He and his wife are still living in Zermatt, but they spend several months in Arizona, USA. He still works part time for his home resort, Zermatt, and has also been involved in projects for WTO (World Tourism Organisation) in various countries in Asia.

In 1972 he met his future wife, Gina, in Mammoth Lakes, California. They were married in California and in 1973 returned to Switzerland. Gina adjusted rapidly to her new home and picked up the local language (a German dialect) in less than a year! She became a real "Swiss miss" in record time! They have three children. The eldest, Claudia, was born in 1976 and is a Hotel Manager in Zermatt. Sandra, the second daughter (1979), likes to travel around the world is presently managing a resort/club in Vail, Colorado. The youngest; Renato (1981) is a Pastry Chef in a 5-star hotel in Zermatt.

Amadé Perrig is a Certified Ski Instructor and a member in various regional, state and international commissions for tourism. He is the founder and was also President and General Secretary of the European marketing organization; „Best of the Alps", which includes the following best known summer and winter resorts of Europe: Garmisch-Partenkirchen (D), Lech (A), Seefeld (A), St. Anton (A), Kitzbühel (A), Cortina d'Ampezzo (I), Chamonix (F), Mégève (F), Davos (CH), Grindelwald (CH), St. Moritz (CH) and Zermatt (CH).

Amadé Perrig speaks his native Swiss dialect, and German, French and English. Due to the versatility of his work in Zermatt, he had the opportunity to acquaint himself with many celebrities ranging from royalties (King of Spain) to politicians, top sports athletes (Chris Everett), industrialists and people in the entertainment business (such as Roger Moore, Michael Douglas, etc.). He showed these VIPs "his" Zermatt, the region and Switzerland and took them skiing/sightseeing, dining, etc.

Contact
Amadé Perrig
Switzerland
Tel. 0041 27 927 71 62
Fax. 0041 27 927 71 69

USA
Tel. 623 388 3351
Fax. 623 388 3351
Email:amade.perrig@zermatt.ch

Arthur von Wiesenberger

Arthur von Wiesenberger
Food & Beverage Consultant, Author & Broadcaster

Mr. von Wiesenberger was born in New York, attended Aiglon College in Villars, Switzerland, Davies in London and Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara. He holds the Diplome d'honneur from the Corporation des Vignerons de Champagne (France) and is a Chevalier of the Chapitre de la Fleur de Vigne de l'Ordre des Coteaux de Champagne (France).

His books on bottled water include, OASIS: THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO BOTTLED WATER (Capra Press 1978), H20: THE GUIDE TO QUALITY BOTTLED WATER (Woodbridge Press 1988), THE POCKETGUIDE TO BOTTLED WATER (Contemporary Books 1991) and THE TASTE OF WATER (Best Cellar Books 1995). He is also the author of THE SANTA BARBARA RESTAURANT GUIDE (Capra Press 1990), (2nd Edition Pacific Books 1994), (3rd Edition 2001) and CHAMPAGNE AND CAVIAR (Capra Press, 1992) He has written articles that have appeared in RUNNER'S WORLD MAGAZINE, SHAPE MAGAZINE, FIT MAGAZINE, PRIVATE CLUBS MAGAZINE, MARKET WATCH, ENTREE, EPICUREAN RENDEZVOUS, VALLEY MAGAZINE, TOWN & COUNTRY and numerous newspapers. He is the food and wine editor for SANTA BARBARA MAGAZINE. He hosts the weekly travel show, Around the World on AM 1290 KZSB as well as on 30 stations in Australia. He also hosts Nipper's Table Talk, a weekly food and restaurant show on AM 1290.

He has appeared on national television programs discussing food and beverages. He has been a speaker at The Whole Life Expo in Pasadena, 1984 - 1986, Mountain Valley Spring Water Annual Distributors Convention, 1991 and The California Bottled Water Association, 1991. He was a speaker at Wine America in New York, March 1993, The Midwest Wine Exposition in Chicago, October 1993, The Society of Wine Educators, Los Angeles National Convention, 1995 and Kapalua Wine & Food Symposium, Maui, Hawaii, June 1996. In 2000 in Seattle and 2001 in Miami Mr. von Wiesenberger was a featured speaker at the International Bottled Water Association Convention & Trade Show.

The BottledWaterWeb® was founded in 1995 by Mr. von Wiesenberger. As a consultant to the beverage industry since 1978, his list of clients includes Acqua Panna, Anheuser-Busch Inc., Arrowhead, Chippewa Springs Ltd, Dover Diversified, Inc, Evian Spring Water, Fiji Water, Hawaiian Springs Natural Water Company, Ionics Inc., Irons & Sears, Manitou Corporation, MG Voda, Montesol, Nestle Waters of North America, PaineWebber, Perrier Group of America, Poland Spring Water, Procter & Gamble, S.Pellegrino, Stanford Wine Co., Travel Berkeley Springs, Inc., Trinity Springs Ltd., Vittel (USA) Inc. and Wheeler Springs Resorts, Inc. He has also served as an expert witness in bottled water litigation.

He participated in the first formal water tasting organized by Les Amis de L'Eau at the Vizcaya Palace in Miami, March 1978. Subsequently he organized the Great Bay Area Water Tasting for The San Francisco Chronicle which was published on June 9th, 1980. Other formal public tastings in which he has participated include The Four Seasons Biltmore, Santa Barbara, August 26, 1988, The Crescent Hotel, Dallas, September 22, 1988, The Fairmount Hotel, August 19, 1989, The American Institute of Wine & Food, September 19, 1990, DuPage County Water Tasting, December 5, 1990, The Ventura Star-Free Press Tap Water Tasting, March 15, 1991. He has served as the Water Master at The Winter Festival of Waters, Berkeley Springs, 1991 - 2006. Mr. von Wiesenberger is a member of The International Bottled Water Association, The American Institute of Wine and Food, The Southern California Restaurant Writers Association, The Society of Wine Educators, and Past-President of The International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association. He is the co-publisher of The Santa Barbara News-Press.

Amy Wong

Bonnie Tandy Leblang

Buddy Winston

Jennifer Merin

Kent E St. John

Laura Powell

Martha Bull

Martha Bull is a well known television reporter on KEYT TV (ABC) and has been with the program since it was first launched.

Max Hartshorne

Melanie Reffes

Mike Thiel

Peter Noone

Peter Blair Denis Bernard Noone is a multi-talented entertainer, who has been delighting audiences nearly all his life. He was born in Manchester, England, where he studied voice and acting at St. Bede's College and the Manchester School of Music and Drama. As a child, he played "Stanley Fairclough" in the long-running British soap opera Coronation Street. He was also featured in the television series Knight Errant, Family Solicitor and Monro's Saki Stories

At the age of fifteen, Peter achieved international fame as "Herman", lead singer of the legendary Sixties pop band Herman's Hermits. His classic hits included: "I'm Into Something Good" "Mrs. Brown, you've Got A Lovely Daughter", "I'm Henry VIII, I Am", "Silhouettes", "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat", "Just A Little Bit Better", "Wonderful World", "There's A Kind of Hush", "A Must To Avoid", "Listen People", "The End of the World" and "Dandy". Ultimately, Herman's Hermits sold over sixty million recordings. In all, fourteen singles and seven albums went gold. The Hermits were twice named Cashbox's "Entertainer of the Year".

As "Herman", the photogenic Noone graced the cover of nearly every international publication, including Time Magazine. He performed on hundreds of top-rated television programs and appeared with such luminaries as Ed Sullivan, Jackie Gleason, Dean Martin and Danny Kaye. He also starred in ABC's musical version of The Canterville Ghost, Hallmark Hall of Fame's presentation of the classic Pinocchio (in which he played the title role) and three highly successful feature films for M-G-M: Mrs. Brown, You've Got A Lovely Daughter, Hold On! and When The Boys Meet The Girls.

Throughout the seventies, Noone performed, composed songs and produced recordings with such artists as David Bowie, Debby Boone and Graham Gouldman. His album with the Tremblers, "Twice Nightly" and his solo effort "One of The Glory Boys" were both critically and commercially successful. With characteristic zeal, Peter took on leading roles in full-scale theatrical productions of Dick Wittington, Aladdin, and Sinbad The Sailor. These live stage spectaculars were mounted at major theatres throughout Great Britain and Noone was highly praised for his outstanding work.

The eighties found Peter starring on Broadway in the New York Shakespeare Festival's production of The Pirates of Penzance. He won rave reviews for his superb portrayal of the dashing, young hero, "Frederic". His performance was so well received, that he went on to reprise the role at the world-famous Drury Lane Theatre in London. Noone charmed audiences worldwide as he continued to play "Frederic" with both the U.S. National Touring Company and the International Touring Company of "Pirates".

Peter's acting career flourished with guest-starring roles in prime-time television shows such as: Married With Children, My Two Dads, Quantum Leap, Dave's World, Easy Street, Too Close For Comfort and Laverne and Shirley. He also starred in the Los Angeles stage premiere of Topokana Martyr's Day and the U.S. National Tour of the smash Broadway hit Romance, Romance.

For four years, Noone served as the winsome host of VH1's My Generation, the highest-ever-rated half hour retrospective of popular music. He also hosted the informative PBS Special The British Invasion Returns and recorded the title song for the Kirk Douglas film Diamonds. He created two unique websites (peternoone.com and hermanshermits.com) that have become so popular, the New York Daily News dubbed him the "King of The Sixties on the Internet."

Accompanied by his band, Herman's Hermits, Noone consistently plays to sold-out venues the world over. He has a legion of faithful fans (known as "Noonatics") whose loyalty is unparalleled. Today's teen girls scream just as passionately as their mothers did back in 1965, prompting VH1 to select Peter as their viewer's choice for the "Sexiest Artist of the Year". Most recently, Noone starred in the recurring role of "Paddington" on the CBS daytime drama, As The World Turns. His colorful performances instantly made him a favorite of the soap opera magazines and online message boards. There is no doubt that Peter Noone's extraordinary talent, disarming wit, handsome features and compelling stage presence will continue to delight fans of all ages, for a long, long time to come.

Contact
Peter Noone Herman
http://peternoone.com
http://www.myspace.com/hermanshermitspeternoone
http://hermanshermits.com

Ren Zwiers

Richard Mineards

Richard Mineards formerly worked on the Daily Mirror and Daily Mail newspapers in London, two of the world's largest, covering the Royal Family. He moved to New York in 1978 to be gossip columnist on Star Magazine and later moved to be contributing editor on the gossip column, "Intelligencer" of New York Magazine, also owned by Rupert Murdoch at the time. In 1984 he did his first U.S. TV appearance on the CBS affiliate morning show in Boston and became a regular, talking about royals, celebrities and the jet set.

The show's hostess later moved to San Francisco to helm a newly launched a.m. show "Good Morning Bay Area" on the ABC affiliate and Richard would fly out regularly from New York to do a gossip segment on the show. National fame beckoned when one of the SF show's producer started on the new Joan Rivers Show. Richard was signed under contract to be a regular gossip commentator on the show, where he appeared for five years.

He was also a regular on "The Geraldo Rivera Show," another Tribune Entertainment production, and appeared on Canadian TV's "Dini Petty Show," jetting up to Toronto from New York regularly for seven years. Richard was also a correspondent on the prime time syndicated entertainment show "Extra," entertainment anchor on the CBS syndicated show "Day & Date," and a host and reporter on E! Entertainment TV's popular "Gossip Show," shown in more than 150 countries worldwide.

For the past five years Richard was a regular commentator on the KTLA Morning Show in Los Angeles, as well as a regular contributor to Paramount TV's "Entertainment Tonight" and "The Insider."

As well as a writing his weekly column for the SB News-Press and broadcasting on the paper's affiliated radio and TV, Richard can be seen doing commentary on ABC's "The View" and "Good Morning America," the Fox News Channel - Bill O'Reilly, Greta van Susteren and John Gibson - and CNN - Larry King and Anderson Cooper.

He also does Canadian TV and BBC Radio......

Sue Frause