Create Static Wordpress Front page

I am trying to use my wordpress site better than it is currently being used.? It is a standard WP site installation yet I have multiple writers on my site and want to take advantage of the 'categories' feature that Wordpress offers.? I don't want to have allthe blog entries displayed together (which is how they will appear under the current WP setup), so my aim is to take the standard WP blog away, use a static page as the site 'home' page and use WP more as a content management system.? I need a front page created that stays within the theme of the site, yet have it divided into sections (similar to certain newspaper sites) so that people can click on separate links (or 'category links') to be redirected to that writer's blogs/entries.? The website is [[login to view URL]][1] and a very basic example of what I am looking for I tried to create at <[login to view URL]>.? I would like something that looks a lot more professional than what I have now. Any feedback or comments/suggestions is appreciated.? I am relatively open to ideas. Cheers,