"John McCollister is an incurable romantic", wrote one book reviewer.

He may be right.

McCollister's history is peppered with attempts at achieving the highest goals possible.

Sometimes he realized those goals; sometimes he did not.

McCollister was graduated with a B.A. in History from Capital University. He received his Masters of Divinity from Trinity Lutheran Seminary and his Ph.D. in Communications from Michigan State University.

He is a published writer of 16 books - the latest are The Christian Book of Why (Random House), Writing for Dollars (Barnes & Noble), The Bucs! The Story of the Pittsburgh Pirates (Addax) and The Tigers and Their Den (Addax). The last two books have been named the official history of the Pittsburgh Pirates and of the Detroit Tigers. He has written over 500 published articles in The Saturday Evening Post, Entrepreneur, Family Circle, Writers Digest, and other publications.

He tried out as a pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates but was cut, as he says, "due to a few bad breaks and an amazing lack of talent".

McCollister, who served Lutheran congregations in Michigan and Florida, taught religion and New Testament Greek at several universities before becoming a full-time writer and an arbitrator for the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. 

He is the representative of the Christian faith on Marc Bernier's "God Squad", heard each month on WNDB AND WNDA.

Rabbi Barry M. Altman, D.D.

Rabbi Barry Altman graduated from the New York University, receiving a B.A. in history. While attending New York University he was editor of "The Washington Square Journal". Rabbi Altman is also a member of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity.

In 1973, Rabbi Altman was ordained Rabbi at Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion, in Cincinnati receiving his M.A.H.L. degree. He received his Doctor of Divinity in March of 1998 from Hebrew Union College in New York campus. While attending Hebrew Union College, Rabbi Altman was Chapel-Coordinator and Vice President of the student body.

Rabbi Altman is the Spiritual Leader of Temple Beth-El in Ormond Beach, Florida. He formerly served pulpits in Seminole, Oklahoma, Logan, West Virginia, and Guatemala City. he was Associate Rabbi of Temple Beth Am of South Miami.

Rabbi Altman also directed the National Federation of Temple "Chavurah" program in St. Louis, Missouri. It is an Urban Studies program for Jewish youth at Washington university. He also served as Rabbinic Youth Advisor of South Florida and was editor of the Rabbinic Page of the Jewish Floridian.

Rabbi Altman served as President of the Halifax Area Ministerial Association in 1980 and is Chairman of their Continuing Education Program. He is also a member of the Volusia County Drug Council, and has served on the board of the Women's Center at Daytona Beach Community College. Rabbi Altman served on the faculty of Bethune-Cookman College as Lecturer in Jewish Studies and Instructor in Religion and Philosophy. He is currently on the faculty staff at Stetson University where he teaches Introduction to Judaism and Reflections on the Holocaust, as well as courses in Bible and Religion. he also is a representative to the Faculty Senate and advisor to the Jewish Students Union.

Rabbi Altman is on the Board of the Jewish Federation of Volusia and Flagler counties. He served on the Board of Family Welfare of Daytona Beach and was Chairman of its National Committee. He was also a board member of Traveler's Aid. Rabbi Altman continues his activities as Community Arbitrator, a court appointed mediator in the Juvenile Justice System. He was nominated in 1982 to a board position with United Way of Volusia and Flagler Counties and re-nominated in 1998. He has served as Chairman of the Allocation Subcommittee and member of the Agency Review Subcommittee. Currently Rabbi Altman is a member of the special events committee of United Way.

The Rabbi lectures on college campuses under the auspices of the Jewish Chautauqua Society; an organization that creates better understanding of Jews and Judaism through education. The Jewish Chautauqua Society is sponsored by the National Federation of Temple Brotherhoods.

Rabbi Altman continues to serve his rabbinic colleagues by participating in the Southeast Region of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. he has held the position of President within this association. He has been Time and Place Chair on numerous occasions.

He is married to the former Malka Zalesky, daughter of the late Dr. Moses Zalesky, Directer of the Bureau of Jewish Education and Professor of Hebrew at Cincinnati university. Mrs. Altman is a former pre-school teacher at Temple Israel and Director of Bet Sefer Academy, a Jewish Day School. She has also held the position of President in the Coastal Division of the Children's Home Society (Florida State Adoption Agency). She has been in the role of Director at the Temple Beth-El Preschool for 16 years. Malka is well loved and respected by all of her staff.

Rabbi and Mrs. Altman have two children, Matthew and Joshua. Matthew is currently living and working in Naples with his new bride, Tamsyn. Joshua is living and working in Berkeley, California, where he recently graduated from the University of California, Berkeley.