Chrys Howard is the mother of Korie Robertson star of the A&E® hit TV show Duck Dynasty® and grandmother of Sadie Robertson, star of Duck Dynasty and Dancing with the Stars.  Chrys holds a degree in elementary education and spent ten years teaching children with learning differences. After teaching, she joined the family-owned business, Howard Publishing, now an imprint of Simon & Shuster’s Howard Books, where she served as senior editor and creative director. She served as the on-set tutor for the Robertson children during the eleven seasons of Duck Dynasty. To this day, it is the most watched cable reality TV show in history.  She received a Silver Angel Award from the Hollywood based Excellence in Media organization, the J. C. Penney Golden Rule Award for Volunteer Service, and has been named among the Who's Who of American Teachers. In her 10th year, she has hosted a weekly radio show titled It's a Mom Thing. She has authored a number of books with more than 1,000,000 in print, including the best-selling Hugs for Daughters and Motivationals for Moms. And co-authored The New York Times bestseller Miss Kay's Duck Commander Cookbook with Kay Robertson; Strong and Kind and Duck Commander Happy, Happy, Happy Stories for Kids with daughter, Korie Robertson; the children’s book, D is for Duck Calls with Kay Robertson; Live Original Devotional with granddaughter, Sadie Robertson. Her most recent book is Rockstar Grandparent. Chrys has spent more than forty years working with Christian youth camps; speaking to women’s groups; teaching Bible classes to children, teens, and young adults; and traveling overseas for mission efforts. She is married to John Howard and has three grown children and fourteen adorable grandchildren and one great-grandchild. She is blessed to live in West Monroe, Louisiana next door to Korie and Willie and surrounded by other family members.               

Chrys’ new book, Rockstar Grandparent, is a guide to grandparenting with purpose and fun. In this age of smartphones and social media, grandparents might be challenged to find where they fit in. Chrys is here to tell grandparents everywhere, that they are a much-needed relationship their grandchildren need and crave. Grandparenting may look a little different today, but it still can be meaningful and fun for both the kids and the adults. Technology mesmerizes children today, but it also enhances the opportunities to connect and share life experiences with children, that grandparents are charged with influencing. A grandparent’s most important role is to influence with wisdom, faith, and fun. This can still be done in 2019, even with a smartphone in the hands of a toddler.

Speaking topics: 

Chrys can address many grandparenting topics relevant to all grandparents. Through her life experiences, she can address divorce, step-children, blended families, in-law issues,  adult children, adoption and more. 

Chrys’ children and grandchildren were the stars of the hit reality show Duck Dynasty, giving Chrys insight into today’s world of social media as many other grandparents have never seen. 

Her granddaughter, Sadie Robertson, has a national platform after appearing on Duck Dynasty and Dancing with the Stars. Chrys has been instrumental in helping her stay grounded as she accompanied her to Hollywood for the taping of Dancing with the Stars and continues to speak into her life. 

Chrys has also had a radio program for the last ten years where she addresses a number of related issues. The show is titled It’s a Mom Thing, and no subject is off limits. Chrys can talk about toddlers to teens to adults on a number of subjects. Some popular topics include: Reclaiming the Castle (When the children have Successfully Dethroned the Parents.) and Loving the Tween Years and I Thought the Toddler Years were Tough, Now I have an Adult Kid!” as well as talks on adoption, and right to life issues.

Chrys’ degree is in education. She taught school for many years. She is available to teacher groups and schools for motivational speeches. 

Chrys’ family owned and operated Howard Publishing where Chrys served as senior editor and creative director. She wrote and edited books for twelve years and is also available to talk about writing and editing books. She has written and edited cookbooks, children’s books, gift books, devotional books, and Christian living books. 

Chrys has been the director of a summer camp for over thirty years giving her years of experience with children and young adults in many different settings. Topics along these lines include letting children go to grow, homesickness and helicopter parenting, as well as any topic related to growing up children to be functioning happy, healthy adults. 

If there is an opportunity to share a story that might be in one of her speeches, here is one she tells about her grandson, John Luke Robertson.

When John Luke, my oldest grandson, was eight years old, I had taken him with me to the grocery store. As we pulled into the parking lot, he said, “2 mama, I’ve learned three things in life.” “What’s that?” I said from the front seat, eager to hear the wisdom of this eight-year-old. He said, “You’ve got to work hard, you’ve got to play hard, and to expect the unexpected.” I was, of course, blown away. I was expecting something like he had learned that frogs are faster than turtles. Then he continued to blow me away by saying, “Do you know which one is the hardest?” “No, buddy, I don’t,” I replied. And he said “Expecting the unexpected”’ Wow! How’s that for wisdom from an eight-year-old? I’ve thought about this so many times in the past fifteen years. I’ve analyzed it. I’ve written about it. I’ve even cried tears of joy about it. Why? Because it’s so true. Because you can’t know what you don’t know. You can’t prepare for what you don’t know is going to happen. Or can you? When I think back at John Luke’s proclamation, I think maybe you can. Maybe he was being prophetic about what was to come to his family. Maybe you can’t expect the unexpected, but you can prepare for the unexpected in the same way you prepare for a storm even if you don’t know if one is coming. You see, Duck Dynasty was a fantastic storm we never expected. But, because our family had done the things John Luke talked about, when the storm came, the Robertson family stood unshaken. They had done the hard work to be grounded in their faith, their family, and their family business. They knew who they were and who they served. Because they were prepared, because they were willing to be used, because of God’s design, not theirs, the Robertson family was given a platform few get to experience and few navigate well. They took it all in stride and continue to bless many lives with their efforts to serve God in every way they can.