Meet Your Calendar Crew: Joanne Johnson
Many of those who work on the calendar do so behind the scenes — the name on the envelope where you send your photos, for example. We thought you'd like to know more about these hard-working, dedicated folks.
Joanne Johnson has been the U.S. coordinator for many years now. For most calendar fans in the U.S., she is their point of contact — reminding them to send in their photos in on time, collecting those photos, sorting them into categories and shipping them off to the appropriate judges. Joanne also serves on the Board of Directors of the BOW Calendar and steps up to fill in for the Calendar Coordinator whenever asked.
Joanne got her first Beardie in 1989. His name was Barnaby and he came from Shanadawn kennels. She, unfortunately, lost him to cancer at age 6. Later, Joanne and her husband Marty welcomed Adam, a boy rescued from a puppy mill. These days they live in Oregon with 4 Beardies — Rosie who is 7, Cee Cee who is 5, Colm at 3 and baby Aria at just a year. Joanne was the inspiration behind the first Brave Beardies page in last year's Calendar. She wanted to celebrate the many Beardies who deal with serious disease on a daily basis but continue to bring love and joy to their families. This picture is of her beautiful Cee Cee, whom Joanne has nursed through many crises but whose will to live is a beautiful thing.