WHOA President Jayne A. Hitchcock:

When Lynda Hinkle first contacted me in early June of 1999 about leaving WHOA, I was more than a bit shocked; she's one of the people I admire most. We met (via email) soon after my cyberstalking incident in 1996. She had also been harassed online and mused that it was too bad there was no web site that addressed the issue. I encouraged her to do something about it. And she did - the next thing I knew, WHOA was born. I was appointed Media Advisor in February of 1997.

Since then, WHOA has grown and changed. Online harassment and cyberstalking cases have dramatically risen and Lynda found there were more cases than she could handle. At first, she mentioned to me that she wanted to shut down the WHOA site and I immediately told her I couldn't let her do it.

As I typed my reply to her, I took the plunge and offered to keep WHOA going. I knew that none of the other people involved with WHOA wanted to see it die. So Lynda graciously handed us the "keys" to the organization and here we are.

I look forward to seeing WHOA continue to grow as a place of support for online harassment and cyberstalking victims. What with our many contacts in law enforcement, the computer and Internet communities, plus states that are passing online harassment laws, we can now give victims the tools to fight back.

I remember what it was like when there was no one for me to contact for support and help. Now there is a place. And it's called WHOA.