Hall of Fame
Joanne competed as Center Forward on the RVC Field Hockey team and also competed as a member of the Women’s Golf team, which led her to participating in the National Collegiate Golf tournament at Penn State University. After graduating from RVC in 1970, she transferred to Illinois State University.
Joanne was crowned Rockford Women’s City Golf Champion in 1971, and while at ISU she represented the Redbirds at the National Collegiate Golf Championships in Athens, Georgia and Las Cruses, New Mexico in 1971-72. In 1972, she won the Illinois State Collegiate held in Carbondale, IL.
In 1974, Joanne graduated from ISU with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Art. She soon began a position as a full time commercial artist producing artwork for ISU, which proved to be the start of a 31-year career at the university. She retired in 2005 as Manager of the university’s Graphic Production Department, which produced instructional design for faculty and sta throughout the university. Joanne very much enjoyed managing six designers and mentoring many interns and student workers over the years.
Her design background has kept her busy even in retirement. She has designed programs and handbooks for the ISU Women’s Golf Association, and a CD cover for the Illinois Symphony Orchestra. She has also produced and designed artwork for the Illinois Association for Health Physical Education Recreation and Dance, and has completed design projects for Legislators Fitness Day.
As for her experience at RVC and her reaction to her induction into the RVC Athletics Hall of Fame, Joanne feels very grateful to RVC for giving her the opportunity to be mentored and guided by people like Gerry McDermott and Judy Biddle.
“The art instruction I received at RVC served as a launching pad for a wonderful career in Graphic Arts,” says Joanne. “It is never smart to underestimate the importance of the work you do if it is done well. In one of my RVC classes, Anatomical Drawing, we were required to draw and label the bones and muscles of the body. In my rst job interview at ISU, I got the job because of the drawings I had done at RVC and my career was launched.”
