SVAC
Spokane Valley Arts Council
Questions?
Contact Gail Bongiovanni
509-986-8333
MEET OUR BOARD
Marina through 1981. He then began his career as a successful Employee Benefits Insurance Broker, RHD Employee Benefits in the Spokane Valley which he owned and has now retired.
Dick has used his education and business experience to make substantial contributions to our community. He served for seven years on the Spokane Valley City Council. He's Past Chair and Board Member for the Spokane Transit Authority, Spokane Regional Health District, Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce and Better Business Bureau. He's a Past Appointee of the Spokane City Water Quality Advisory Committee and the Health Improvement Partnership.
He's currently serving on the Board of Directors of the Red Cross and Spokane Valley Partners and in addition will serve on the Board of Directors for Rotary Club #21 in the upcoming year.The Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce has recognized him for his many contributions by giving him the prestigious Citizen of The Year Award.
His interests are snow skiing, water skiing and motorcycling. He had been on the Mt. Spokane/National Park Ski Patrol for 36 years, is a private pilot and has two children residing in the Spokane area and five grandchildren with whom he enjoys playing.
Dick Denenny grew up learning about running a successful business from his father. He learned early on about making good business decisions and growing a business as they transitioned from an upholstry shop into a full blown boat marina.
He started out getting a solid education graduating from Gonzaga Prep then going to the University of San Francisco. He then transferred and continued his education at the University of California, Berkley.
He returned to Spokane as Owner/Manager of Denenny's
Dick Denneny | President
Marc McIntosh | Vice President
Marc has lived in the Spokane area all but the first 5 years of his life.
He grew up on north side of Spokane graduating from Shadle Park in 1969, EWU in 1973, and Gonzaga Law School in 1977. He has lived in the Foothills are since 1979 where he operates Marcinda Kennels.
Between his wife and himself, they have 6 children. One of which was in a car accident and suffered a traumatic brain injury who Marc works for as a caregiver. He is retired from the USPS as a rural carrier and assistant state steward. Marc also has seven rentals and also rents condos mainly on the Oregon coast.
Hobbies include golf, fishing, traveling (owning 32 weeks on the Oregon coast), collecting art, and keeping up with family activities.
He is a long-time board member on the Foothills Rural Association.
I donate blood and platelets regularly. I am at 18 gallons of whole blood and 270 units of platelets. Marc has been a board member of SVAC for just under 15 years.
Originally from upstate New York, this Army veteran and multi-medium artist graduated with Phi Theta Kappa Honors from Fayetteville State University in North Carolina with a Bachelors of Science in Criminal Justice with additional certifications in Criminal Justice Technology and International Diplomacy & Relations from George Mason University's Beijing Summer Program and secondary focuses in psychology and forensics.
At Southeastern Community College, she assisted in the Basic Law Enforcement Training and testing scenarios in Domestic Violence, Defensive Driving Techniques, Hostage Negotiations, M.O.U.T Operations and Crime Scene Investigation final certification testing at F.S.U.
Moving back to Spokane in 2015, after always being an avid lover of the arts, her fiance, Anthony, encouraged her to focus on her passion. From craft fairs to commissions to book covers and comic publications, she met Denny Carman and co-organized 3 installments of Spokane's Art on the Go drive-by art show, presented by the River Ridge Association of Fine Arts during the 2020 pandemic.
Finding others who shared the vision, the team founded (Make. A. Difference) M.A.D Co. Lab Studios L.L.C in 2021 - A gallery, ceramic studio, event center & collaborate workspace with Emma Whitehead, owner of Celestial Beans Coffee Shop in an effort to build a community center for the creatively wired, along with the newly created nonprofit organization, Collectively M.A.D in 2022, which assists in art class funding at the facility, group programs and operational support.
"Creatives making a difference through collaborative efforts, shared opportunities & community involvement."
New to the Spokane Valley Arts Council, she hopes to continue to connect with others who support the artistic process of personal and professional development to creatively serve the community for generations to come.
Gail Bongiovanni | Volunteer Coordinator
Over 40 years ago in Spokane Valley, I opened Gail’s School of Dance in September 1980 as a small, private business dedicated
to giving personal attention to students and assisting in their overall personal development. My goal has been to bring fun, fitness and appreciation of dance by sharing my own love of dance and dedication with students ages three to adult, with all level of skills
and abilities.
I am active in our non-profit community, serving as president of the board of Inland Northwest Dance Association and as secretary of the board of ValleyFest. Beginning in 2002, I served on the Arts and Culture Transition Team (ACTT), whose purpose was to establish the Spokane Valley Arts Council. I served as performing arts committee chairperson for SVAC prior to joining the SVAC board in 2007.
Jim Harken
Dr Harken was born and raised in Eastern Montana. After high school, he attended one year at the University of Montana, then moving on to the University of Washington where he obtained a four year degree from their dental program. After graduating, he and his wife, Joanne, moved to Spokane Valley and opened his dental practice in 1960. Jim and Joanne had 5 children. Joanne was a registered nurse, returned to school and received her dental hygienist degree from EWU.
Jim first began collecting art in 1968 which quickly grew into a passion. When his wife passed away in 2002, his collection had grown to 1,800 pieces. In 2003 he married Pauline Brayman. The following year, Jim helped start the Spokane Valley Arts Council, which he became the president and art director of in 2006. He continued in this role until 2015 when he stepped back
to focus on the SVAC annual auction fund raiser which started in 2008.
Jim Sullivan
My formal introduction to Art started in 1971 when we were relocated by Seattle First National Bank to Spokane from Seattle. I became a member of the Board of Directors of the Museum of Native American Cultures (MONAC) The major fundraising activity for MONAC was the Western Art Auction held at the Ridpath Hotel which I became a Board member. This was one of two major auctions of Western and Native American historical art, the other being the CM Russell Auction in Great Falls Montana.
I became President of MONAC initiating the transfer and preservation of the assets to Gonzaga University. I was transferred to Portland with US National Bank, returning to Spokane and joining the Board of the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture (MAC) retiring in 2017.
I have continued my passion for Native American cultures in collecting representative art and artifacts from pre-columbian time to the present.
It has been most enjoyable and rewarding to see the success Spokane Valley Art Council and the City of Spokane Valley has provided the Community.
PJay is a nurse who attended Art Schools for over 5 years. She took every class she could to find which medium allowed her to express her creative talents best. PJay is still trying to figure that out. Currently she is working in many mediums, playing with acrylics, watercolor and clay. Pjay says she just can't decide!
Jay Moynahan
Jay is a retired professor emeritus from Eastern Washington University. Moynahan has been a fine art appraiser for over 40 years. He is the author of many books and articles on art, artists, and a variety of other topics. He and his wife Cinde own and operate Chickadee Publishing in Spokane, Washington.
Russell Braymen
When Russell was in college studying to be a Mechanical Engineer, taking the required "Art History" elective that started the spark and his interest in Art and Architecture. Later, when he traveled internationally on business, that spark turned into a flame seeing everything he studied in "Real Life". It would be no wonder he went on to marry an Interior Designer, who has 2 sisters and a brother in law that are professional artists. It must of have been his destiny in life to go from putting calendars into frames to have Art on the walls, to being part of this great organization supporting Artists and being part of the process bringing "Larger than Life" art to the public.
Denny Carman
Denny was born and raised in Spokane, Wa. and had a 32-year career as a Journeyman Plumber, which took him from Spokane to Texas, Oregon and Alaska. In 2006, injuries from a fall took away his career and that's when he became more involved in Art and the Art community. Since then, he’s been involved in the Following; 1) Past Spokane Arts Commissioner. 2) Past Resource Manager for Art Chowder Magazine and now he’s a Senior Sales Executive for the Magazine. 3) Past President of River Ridge Association of Fine Arts. (3 years). 4) Co-Founder of M.A.D. Co Lab Studios. 5) Podcast host at Artistsimply. 6) Co-host at Spokane Public Radio, where they interview Artists. 7) Received Leadership Award at the 2018 Spokane Arts Awards. Denny is also an Event planner and Art promoter, among many other things he does around the Spokane community. Just an Art nut.
Rob McKirdie | Scholarship Chair
Rob McKirdie is a mixed media sculptor who works with wood and metal, integrating found and fabricated objects together. His artistic practice encompasses mold making, fabrication and metal casting. He completed his undergraduate studies at Portland State University where he received his BFA in Studio Practice and Bachelors of Science in Sculpture. Rob went on to receive his MFA in Sculpture from Rhode Island School of Design in 2014. After a brief stint in Scranton Pennsylvania Rob moved to Spokane in 2015 to become a member of the faculty at Spokane Falls Community College.
Gretha Lawrence
Born in Washington state & raised by her Grandparents from Norway. The old world values are deeply influenced in Gretha's lifestyle. Gretha has been involved in the medical, dental, music and art world for 30 +years. Gretha has & continues to volunteer with the Red Cross community outreach & the SVAC.
Temira Paulson
Temira is a native of Spokane and received her high school diploma from Lewis & Clark High School, continuing her higher education at the University of Idaho with degrees in Recreation Management, and Hotel and Restaurant Management. Temira took to performing arts at a young age in dance, starting early and continuing through college. Supporting the Arts in Spokane started with her parents, who led by example through their involvement in the community and supporting the arts. Though Temira is not an artist she has great interest and appreciation for all forms of artwork, and the importance of it to our schools and community.
She and her husband have 3 amazing children in high school and college, with a variety of different interests - from dance and science to culinary arts and softball.
Temira & her husband run a successful local business-- their own insurance brokerage—The Paulson Becker Agency. It has been a lot of hard work but very rewarding for them.
She and her family find great joy in volunteering. Starting when their kids were young, being very involved in their schools and as they have gotten older supporting the community serving the community through places such as Blessings Under the Bridge, Toms Turkey Drive, and The Salvation Army. In her free time Temira loves working in her garden, hiking and spending time with her friends and family.