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Welcoming New Board Members at the Writers’ Colony



The Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow (WCDH) is pleased to announce several updates to its Board of Directors. After accepting the resignation of Allyn Lord, with gratitude for her 6 years of service, Joe Coykandall has stepped up as President of the Board with Laura Matson Hahn serving as Vice President. Four new board members have been added: Janet Allured, Jude Gaillot, Brooks Garner, and Dann Richardson.


Joe Coykendall said of the new appointments, “The Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow (WCDH) is pleased to announce that it now has a full complement of nine directors. This includes four new directors, three in replacement of Directors who have elected to move on to other commitments, and one new director position. We are very pleased with the breadth and depth of experience represented in this new team. Skill sets and experience include writing, art, marketing, programming, and grant application. All have served on non-profit boards in other contexts. New directors joining the Board include Dann Richardson, Brooks Garner, Janet Allured and Jude Galliot. We expect to see more in-depth involvement by directors, permitting the Colony to fully benefit from this highly experienced group.”


Janet Allured, Ph.D., retired Professor of History and Women’s Studies at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana, is currently adjunct professor of Women’s History at the University of Arkansas. She has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles on southern women and has co-edited several volumes in Louisiana history, including one in the University of Georgia Press’s series on southern women entitled Louisiana Women: Their Lives and Times (2009). Remapping Second-Wave Feminism: The Long Women’s Rights Movement in Louisiana, 1950-1997, was also published with Georgia (2016). She is currently working on books about southern progressive women in the twentieth century.


Jude Gaillot is an open-source software developer and former journalist. A native of New Orleans, he published an arts and entertainment newspaper in Pensacola, Florida, in the late 1990s, and now lives in Eureka Springs. He is working on his first book, Welcome to Eureka Springs: The I-Sh*t-You-Not History of America's Quirkiest Town.


Brooks Garner was an Associate Professor at Oklahoma State University for 26 years before retiring and moving to Fayetteville in 2011 with his wife, Linda Leavell. During the OSU years he taught a variety of courses in Public Relations and Mass Communications. He was also active in developing and producing Outreach Programs to serve a variety of university audiences. Brooks was born in Little Rock at a very early age. He moved with his family to Tulsa where he spent most of his growing up years. He earned both a BA and MA in Mass Communications from the University of Oklahoma. Prior to joining the OSU faculty, Brooks worked in a variety of corporate public relations projects over 12 years. Some specific areas of work included media relations, employee communications, and community relations. Brooks and Linda have been regular visitors to Eureka Springs since the late-1980’s. The trips from OSU were perfect for a relaxing get-away weekend. Those escapes fostered a deep appreciation for the scenic beauty of the Ozark region of Arkansas.


Dann Richardson grew up in Rockingham, North Carolina where he began learning the graphic arts working in his father’s print shop from the age of 6. He began an advertising/broadcast career at age 16, when hired at WAYN radio station as an announcer. Dann attended University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and then served in the United States Air Force at the Defense Language Institute for Russian Studies where he worked as an analyst. Afterwards, he moved to New Orleans to work at WNOE radio as an announcer/voice-over artist. At the age of 30, he incorporated HeliosGraphics, a graphic design firm and met his husband Todd, a seasoned neon design expert. Their small marketing company soon gained national exposure which it still enjoys today, servicing festivals and events around the country with every kind of personalized (imprinted or neon) promotional item you can think of. After moving to Eureka Springs, they set up a studio on Beaver Lake, where they ply their trade while watching the otters play in our back yard.



President: Joe Coykendall

Vice President: Laura Matson Hahn

Secretary: Tricia Ward Evans

Treasurer: Elise Roenigk


Board Members:

Janet Allured

Jude Gaillot

Brooks Garner

KJ Zumwalt

Dann Richardson


The Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit literary arts organization whose mission is to nurture writers of all genres, backgrounds, and levels of experience in a supportive environment that builds community, energizes creative expression, stimulates new thinking, and optimizes productivity. Since opening its doors to writers in 2000, the Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow has made a lasting impact on the arts and literary communities by hosting over 1,800 writers from 48 states and 13 countries. For more information, please visit www.writerscolony.org or call (479)253-7444.

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