Joanne Gallinghouse, Class 2005
This alumnus' was chosen based on his/hers direct involvement resulted in positive economic impact and significant improvement in many areas of St. Tammany Parish. This alumnus merits this award not only for the dedication and service to the community but equally as important is the long-term commitment, dedication, and continued service over many years as an active participant in our community in expanding the arts and fostering economic development whereby bring positive change and growth to St. Tammany Parish through activism and volunteer service.
Some of this alumnus’ accomplishments are:
Chamber of Commerce/Leadership St. Tammany - In the early 1990’s when she was a board member of the St. Tammany West Chamber of Commerce, she was one of three people responsible for instituting the Leadership program in western St. Tammany (Joanne, Diane Winston and Ed Dillard). After graduating as a member of the Leadership St. Tammany class of 2005, Joanne accepted a position on the Leadership St. Tammany Board of Trustees. She later served three additional terms as a member of the Board of Directors of the St. Tammany West Chamber of Commerce.
Covington Three Rivers Art Festival - Joanne was one of the originators of the Covington Three Rivers Art Festival, which has grown from 49 artists and 6,000 attendees in 1997 to 200 artists and over 50,000 tourists, visitors and locals attending in 2010, resulting in an estimated amount of over $500,000 brought into our community last year. The festival received a Main Street Award from the Louisiana State Office of Tourism and was named a Top 20 Event in the Southeastern U.S. by the Southeast Tourism Society. Joanne has remained a volunteer with the festival since its inception and over the years she has held a variety of offices including President of the Board of Directors and Festival Chairman. She has handled all of the festival’s public relations, publicity and graphic design needs as a volunteer, annually donating from $13,000 to $15,000 in pro bono services to this event. She has been the vision and driving force behind this festival, insisting – that a high standard of the quality of art be maintained for acceptance into the festival -- that the festival remain free and open to the public, and -- that children and students of St. Tammany schools should be directly involved since statistics show that children exposed to the arts at an early age perform better in school, make better students, and ultimately make better citizens.
"Be The Match" - In June of this year, Gallinghouse & Associates promoted and hosted an event in Mandeville for the Louisiana Bone Marrow Registry to try to find a match for a local person on the Northshore needing a transplant. At a typical sign-up event, about 25 to 35 people are swabbed as a possible match and their information is stored and kept in the registry for possible future matches. Because of the involvement of Joanne and her staff who advertised, organized, set-up and ran the event, 111 persons were swabbed for the registry at the Mandeville event (a new record high!) and $550 was raised in one-day sales of raffle tickets for the registry.
"Hats Off" Luncheon - Gallinghouse & Associates hosts an annual "Hats Off" Luncheon saluting the women (and men) who have appeared on the cover of Sophisticated Woman Magazine during the previous 12 months. G&A employees sell tickets to the luncheon, solicit auction gifts, run the auction, and donate the income generated from this event to an area non-profit, resulting in a direct contribution of from $2,500 to $4,500 per year to the local recipient non-profit organization. The recipient in 2010 was Safe Harbor, a domestic violence program and shelter supporting St. Tammany and Washington parishes.
Create-A-Thon - From 2002 through 2009, the agency has been the only Louisiana participant in Create-Athon, a national, 24-hour marketing marathon during which Gallinghouse & Associates/G&A Publishing close the agency doors for two days and work around the clock creating, designing, and producing work for non-profit organizations who have either no budget or a very limited budget. Gallinghouse designs and produces logos, letterhead, stationery, posters, and brochures at no cost to the non-profits. All of the agency’s time for all employees is donated to Greater New Orleans area nonprofit organizations. In eight years (Katrina caused a cancellation in 2005), Gallinghouse & Associates produced over 155 projects for 48 nonprofit clients, valued at more than $650,000.
Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) - Joanne serves on the LPO Northshore Advisory Board and she also chaired their Northshore Communications and Marketing Committee. In the first year that the Board was in existence, Northshore ticket sales and participation with the LPO more than doubled as a direct result of Joanne’s involvement in bringing more LPO programming and awareness to the Northshore.
Additional Community Involvement - Joanne is currently a Regional Champion for Blueprint LA and she sits on the local Habitat for Humanity Board. In past years, she served on various boards and commissions, including the St. Tammany Economic Development Foundation, Youth Service Bureau, SLU Alumni Association and the City of Covington Overlay Review Board.