A Mississippi Arts Commission (MAC) Teaching Artist/Roster Artist (Literary), Mississippi Humanities Speaker, and 2014 and 2020 MAC Literary Arts Fellowship recipient, Richelle has received writing awards from Fish Publishing, New Millennium Writings, Writers Digest, Billboard World Song Contest, American Songwriters Magazine, and more. Her nonfiction books include The Inspiring Life of Eudora Welty (2014 Moonbeam Silver Award), Mississippi and Mississippi and the Great Depression (2017 Foreword INDIE Book Bronze Award, Regional Category), Lauderdale County, Mississippi; a Brief History, Legendary Locals of Meridian, and Mississippi in the Great Depression, an Images of America book. She holds a BS in Marketing Management and is finishing her Master of Art in Writing at the University of North Alabama. Her mission is to help all ages experience the power and potential of words.