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The Savannah Tribune • Wednesday, April 26, 2023 9
FUNdraising Good Times
Shaping our future as a landscape architect
An interview with landscape architect John Jackson III
Ask a Leadership Coach
Victoria Baylor CPC, CODC, CNLP
The “Echo-Effect” of Good Communication
“I believe that all
monuments have their place;
I also believe that the story
they tell should be factual and
not slanted in their true role in
history. We as people should
remember that not all monu
ments celebrate the good, many
monuments tell a story that are
painful to some; however all
monuments should provoke
thought and tell the truth, so we
as people will remember!”
These are the words
of John Jackson III, a land
scape architect for over thir
ty-eight years, commenting
on the movement to remove
confederate statues. As the
owner of one of only a few
Black landscape architect firms
he has deep insights into the
development of monuments,
parks, plazas, walkways, and
historic monuments. He is part
of a movement creating a pub
lic counter-narrative to monu
ments that honor the confeder
acy. He and his team at JPA Inc.
are well versed in the design of
large-scale planning, planting,
themed developments, muse
ums and cultural projects that
bring African American history
and aspirations to life.
He is being more than
modest when he says “I believe
that the work that we have done
as it relates to African American
culturally significant projects is
John Jackson III
one of our core competencies.
We have worked on projects all
over the United States and have
won many honors and awards
for our work.” JPA Inc. has
worked on the Historic Cam
pus Entry to Tougaloo College
(a former Slave Plantation that
is now an institution of higher
learning) in Mississippi; I AM
A MAN Plaza in Memphis,
TN; the Harlem District Street-
scape in Albany, GA; the Tus-
kegee Airmen National His
toric Site in Alabama; Henry
“Hank” Aaron Park in Mobile ,
AL; the Magic Johnson Sports
Facility in Holly Springs, MS;
and the site design for the Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. Nation
al Historic Site in Atlanta, GA.
Live Oak Public Libraries
Names Deputy Director
Jen Baxter
Live Oak Public Li
braries (LOPL) announces Jen
Baxter as Deputy Director.
Baxter will provide
strategic and functional over
sight of library public services,
including all LOPL locations,
outlets and public service co-
ordinative functions, including
Collection Management, Pub
lic Services, Communications,
Community Engagement, and
IT.
Prior to joining Live
Oak Public Libraries, Baxter
was the Library Director for
Athens-Limestone County
Public Library, located in North
Alabama. Baxter has worked
in public libraries for more
than a decade and has held a
variety of roles within the field,
beginning her career as an un
paid volunteer in Southern Cal
ifornia and growing through
the ranks to hold positions in
library administration in Mis
sissippi, including as Assistant
Director of Branch Services
and HR at Jackson-George Re
gional Library System, as well
as Library Director for Han
cock County Public Library.
Baxter holds a Bach
elor of Arts in Journalism from
the University of Mississippi,
a Masters in Library and In
formation Science from The
University of Southern Missis
sippi, and a Masters of Public
Administration from Arkansas
State University.
Savannah Sports Council
Selected as Inductee to the 2023
Class of the Greater Savannah
Athletic Hall of Fame
The Savannah Sports
Council is proud to announce
that it has been selected as an
inductee to the 2023 class of
the Greater Savannah Athletic
Hall of Fame. The Savannah
Sports Council is recognized
for its outstanding contribu
tions to the Savannah commu
nity and its impact on the local
sports.
“After many, many
years of service to the Savan
nah/Chatham community, I am
pleased to see the Savannah
Sports Council recognized for
its service,” said Joseph Mari-
nelli, president of the Savannah
Sports Council. “From legacy
events like the Hockey Classic
and Bridge Run, to more recent
additions like the Rock ‘n Roll
Marathon and the Publix Wom
en’s Half Marathon and 5K,
this organization has helped
to showcase high profile sport
events at every level.”
The Greater Savan
nah Athletic Hall of Fame was
founded in 1965 and has rec
ognized outstanding athletes,
coaches, and individuals who
have contributed to the sports
community in Savannah. The
Hall of Fame’s mission is to
honor those who have brought
recognition, distinction, and
excellence to the city through
their athletic achievements.
“The Greater Savan
nah Athletic Hall of Fame is
pleased to recognize the Sa
vannah Sports Council for its
legendary accomplishments
bringing sports to Savannah,”
says J.C. “Chip” Grayson, For
mer Savannah Sports Council
Chair. “This choice was past
due, so congratulations to the
SSC on a job well done, and
a hardy thank you for what
you’ve done for Savannah!
For more information
or for media assistance, con
tact Tanvi Chauhan at TChau-
han@VisitSavannah.com or
912.644.6429.
Thank You For Reading
The Savannah Tribune
In Print and Online
It hasn’t been an easy
journey. Jackson shares. “I
started in Landscape Architec
ture, in 1983 there were very
few African-American Land
scape Architects in practice. I
was the second African-Ameri
can to graduate from the Land
scape Architecture Program at
Mississippi State University
since the program began in
1964. As it relates to barriers,
coming out of school, no one
wanted to hire me, some clients
did not want to hire us, many
doors for certain types of proj
ects were closed to us.” But he
is encouraging and welcoming
towards those who are new to
the field or considering such
a career path. “Do not let the
lack of African-Americans in
this field of Landscape Archi
tecture deter you from becom
ing one. I believe that being a
minority amongst a majority is
a clear advantage, especially
if you know what you are do
ing. In order to be noticed you
must stand out, being an Afri
can-American in Landscape
Architecture gives you that ad
vantage.”
Landscape architect
isn’t always the first career path
that a person considers. But the
work is influential and lasting.
It’s an opportunity to tell the
truth and shape the future for
generations to come. Join us in
saluting John Jackson III and
the team at JPA Inc.
You can reach JPA
Inc. at 901-207-5231.
Copyright 2023
- Mel and Pearl Shaw of
Saad&Shaw - Comprehensive
Fund Development Services.
Video and phone conferencing
services always available. Let
us help you grow your fund
raising. Call us at (901) 522-
8727. www.saadandshaw.com.
Besides being as-
toundingly beautiful the Grand
Canyon offers another unique
feature. You can shout into it
and sound will travel around
343 meters/s (1100 ft/s) --of
ten traveling back as fast as 2
seconds depending upon your
location. Talk about a rapid re
sponse !
That echo reminds
me of the importance of good
communication. When done
successfully a message should
be delivered, connect with its
listener, be understood and be
repeated back through words or
actions that show understand
ing. The challenge with that is
we all know that communica
tion isn’t always that seamless.
George Bernard
Shaw said it best in his quote
“The single biggest problem in
communication is the illusion it
has taken place “. Just because
you’re speaking doesn’t mean
the words are being understood
or received. So as a leader how
can you communicate better
On Wednesday, April
26,2023, a ribbon cutting cere
mony will be held at the Coast
al Georgia Botanical Gardens
celebrating the opening of the
new Children’s Garden. The
event will begin at 4PM inside
Victoria Baylor
in a way that will create an
“Echo-Effect”?
Here are a few help
ful tips.
1. Know your audi
ence and speak their language.
I can’t go to Italy demanding
everyone speak English when
the Andrews Visitor & Educa
tion Center, and those attend
ing are encouraged to tour the
grounds weather permitting.
What: Ribbon Cut
ting Ceremony for new Chil
dren’s Garden
they prefer Italian. It’s the re
sponsibility of the leader to
learn the language
2. Enhance your
communication skills. Any
thing worth building requires
multiple tools. Communication
likewise requires you to have
tools such as negotiation, con
flict resolution, mediation, etc.
3. Listen more. Most
communication issues can be
avoided if more active listen
ing happened. Listening to
understand and not find fault
is a great way to grow in your
communication and learn to re
spond better to others.
4. Know your com
munication blindspots and
quirks. We all have them (see
my last article).
Need Executive
or Managerial Coaching for
yourself or your organization
to strengthen leadership effec
tiveness? Email Victoria at vic-
toria@victoriabaylor.com or
visit www.victoriabaylor.com
to book a consultation.
Where: Coastal
Georgia Botanical Gardens, 2
Canebrake Road, Savannah,
GA 31419 Details: Those in
terested in attending are asked
to wear soft sole shoes
VICTORIA BAYLOR
LEADERSHIP
& OD SOLUTIONS
Ribbon Cutting Ceremony For New
Children’s Garden
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