Bearing Drift senior contributor Kristina Nohe has been named the top columnist for non-weekly newspapers in Virginia by the Virginia Press Association for her work at InsideNoVa/ Prince William [1] news. (Find a list of her InsideNoVa writings here [2].)
This recognition is the latest of her achievements that included her selection in 2020 [3] as one of the five most influential women [4] in Prince William County.
Kris is a busy lady – wife, mother, home school educator, grad school student, writer, blogger, community leader, and outspoken citizen. In between excelling in graduate school, teaching home school classes, raising four children with her husband, and writing at Bearing Drift, she has found a niche at InsideNoVa, billed as Northern Virginia’s leading news source.
Over at her Be the Grey Squirrel site, she shared her viewpoint about taking on concerns: “Be Brave. Be Creative. Be Tenacious. And when all else fails, fluff up your tail and jump.” That, in a nutshell, captures Kris’ humor and unique communication skills. She has used that strength to speak out in her distinctive way on a variety of issues with her contributions at Bearing Drift, adding a twist or humor or angst to the often stodgy political points of view.
During her four years with us, Kris has authored a number of articles including Closed Primaries, or the Republican Bachelor [5] … Women Are Not a Monolith [6] … Republicans Cannot Continue to Ignore the African American Community [7] … 21 Years Ago Today My Friend Matt Shephard Died [8]… Her First Time Voting [9] …
… Life Is Precious and Complicated [10] … America: Macbeth Act 5 [11] … The Southern Strategy Goes to School [12] … A Vote Against Truth [13] … Remember the Ladies [14] … The Allegory of the Congress: 2020 Edition [15] … Trump Is the GOP’s Drug of Choice [16] … Race Mixing and White Saviorism – I’ve Heard It All Before [17] … There Are No Pro-Life Candidates Running For President [18] … I Am An Actress. I Speak For the Girls [19] … A Republican Woman Spoke Up … Again. [20]
She questions the status quo and breaks down the norms, treading where other center-right writers may be fearful to venture. That is what sets her apart in the crowded field of political commentary.
Proving that one size does not fit all when defining Republicans, conservatives, and writers at Bearing Drift, she shared a self-assessment as proof:
“I love theatre, rom-coms, and singing in my car at the top of my lungs. I’m a morning person and a coffee person, but I hate glitter and anything bedazzled. I use a lot of curse words, and I love Jesus. I like to cook, hate to grocery shop, and Spaghetti-O’s with meatballs are my comfort food. I color my hair, hate wearing makeup, and think elastic waistbands are highly underrated. I have extremely strong feelings about the necessity for the Oxford Comma and colored Christmas lights. I went to the first Women’s March and then I went to the March for Life. There is no other woman like me, so I will never ask any other women to occupy the space I’ve created. But likewise, I’d love it if they would stop telling me that I had to occupy theirs.”
If you ever wondered why we love having her write with us, that says it all right there. It’s quite understandable why Inside NoVa liked her writing. She’s a star.
Bearing Drift’s writers have always branched out into other areas of interest including hosting podcasts, syndicated radio shows, running for public office, managing and consulting campaigns, grassroots leadership, and author contributions to other publications. Kris falls right in there with her extended diversified interests.
So congratulations to Kris on the well-deserved recognition from the Virginia Press Association. And a thank you for sharing her time and talent to be one of us while rattling cages and kick-starting ideas essential to advancing and encouraging good government, democracy, and being civil, decent citizens.