Beal Center’s new director Dawn Holladay hit the ground running in her new position.
By Lorraine Bennett
Staff Writer
When the newly selected executive director of the venerated Historical Clay County Courthouse/Beal Center came on the job officially in January she thought she might have a little time to get her feet under her. She had been told January might be a slow month.
Instead, Dawn Holladay found herself booking and planning for a rehearsal dinner, several baby showers, two photo shoots and a fundraiser.
That was just the first week.
When she was interviewed for this article, she was preparing the center for a wedding in three days, and a photo shoot in an hour.
This Hayesville High School grad, whose work experience includes the Clay County School System, seemed unfazed by such challenges.
“I really enjoy doing events, volunteering and that sort of thing,” she said. “I’ve never done this professionally but I’ve done this unofficially before and with my own children.”
Holladay applied for the Beal Center directorship last fall. When she learned she had the job, she spent part of December coming in and familiarizing herself with the ropes.
Such preparation came in handy. So does her ability to multitask. When she found the front door to the courthouse was missing some hinges she made repairs herself.
“I saw on Facebook they were looking for someone,” she recalled how she learned of the opening at the courthouse. So she applied.
Now she is juggling indoor concerts, fundraisers, baby showers, weddings, rehearsal dinners, bridal showers and frequent photo shoots. Requests come to her through email, Facebook, word of mouth and the website: www.bealcenter.org.
“I’m in there pretty much seven days a week,” Holladay said. “We do events seven days a week. We book for conferences as well and there will be a blood drive in March.”
Overseeing Holladay’s efforts is the Clay County Communities Revitalization Association and four other committees.
“They’ve given me a lot of flexibility,” she said. “Everybody has been super helpful. The volunteers have been great. I get help with the website, with accounting and other things.”
The job, she is finding, is much more than event planning.
“It’s being in the community. It’s customer relations. There’s lots of work because we don’t have a crew that comes in for maintenance, janitorial and that sort of thing. Everybody pitches in to help,” she said.
Holladay knows a bit about working with large numbers of people. She said she worked in the Clay County School System for about 15 years. She was a teacher assistant in the elementary school, and an office manager at the high school. She also worked with middle school students.
In addition to her new duties at the courthouse, Holladay is co-owner with her fiancé Billy Swofford of Lawns to Limbs Tree and Crane Service. Between them they have four children and she is grandmother to five.
She also raises Irish Doodles, a cross between an Irish Setter and a poodle. She says seeing the dogs’ heads hanging out the windows of her 4-Runner is becoming a familiar sight around Hayesville.
“I’m really a low key person,” she observed in a statement that contradicted her busy work schedule. “I just like to do my job.”
In addition to it, she said, “I enjoy the grandkids and the puppies. The Irish Doodles produced a litter of puppies in February. Some of the offspring went to Ohio, Connecticut and Florida. She kept one.
For the present, she said she is through breeding puppies. At present, her focus is the Beal Center.
“One of our biggest goals this year is advertisement,” she said. She also will be working with chambers of commerce in the tri-state area.
The center is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and by appointment on Saturday. Those interested in booking an event in the historic building can call her during office hours or leave a message (828) 415-1623.