9/25/2009 10:00:00 AM 2009 Most Influential Women Honoree: Denise Gibson Ozarks Food Harvest
Q&A with Denise
Tell us about your family.
I am single. I have a golden retriever, Tessie, and a little Bichon Frise I rescued (named) Max. One of the primary reasons I returned to the Ozarks was because my entire family lives in the area, including my mother, stepdad, brother and several aunts and uncles.
When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up?
When I was 9, I had an internal struggle with two career options. I either wanted to be an archaeologist or an airline stewardess. At the time, I didn't understand my interest in these two dynamically different career choices, but I later realized that it was my desire to travel to faraway places and see the world. Luckily, my career in advertising provided the opportunity to travel extensively.
What are some words to live by?
"Take time before time takes you." I'm not sure who I originally heard these words from, but they've influenced me so much that I remind myself each day that time is fleeting and there are things to learn, people to meet and flowers to smell.
What made Denise Gibson think about switching her college major from business?
A desire to dance on Broadway. "Maybe there's a chance I could still do this after I retire. We'll see," she says.
After more than 20 years in advertising, Denise Gibson switched career gears to focus on giving back to her native Springfield.
"I wasn't a stranger to the issue of hunger in the Ozarks," says Gibson, director of development for Ozarks Food Harvest, "but I quickly learned more about what a serious problem it is that we have with people living in poverty in our community. I was compelled to do something to help those who need it most."
A graduate of Hillcrest High School, Gibson earned a bachelor's degree in business administration with an emphasis on marketing from Missouri State University.
She joined Ozarks Food Harvest in 2003 and has worked to rebrand the organization's image, grow its donor database and help increase the annual operating budget to more than $2.2 million from $750,000.
Gibson was involved with creating the nonprofit's logo and tagline, "Transforming Hunger Into Hope," which was unveiled in 2006, and she was a key player in the capital campaign to build a larger and more efficient warehouse, which opened this summer at 2810 N. Cedarbrook Ave.
"It's hard to believe the food bank was distributing just 90,000 pounds of food to 22 hunger-relief agencies in 1983, while today we distribute more than 6 million pounds of food and supplies annually to more than 350 member charities across 29 Ozarks counties," Gibson says.
Fundraising, grant writing and the pursuit of state tax credits made the warehouse a reality. Ozarks Food Harvest was honored as the fifth organization in the region in the last 40 years to receive a $500,000 challenge grant from The Kresge Foundation of Troy, Mich. Ozarks Food Harvest also has secured $500,000 in state credits, she says.
During Gibson's previous career in advertising, she worked with major brands that included HJ Heinz, ConAgra Foods, Mission Foods, PepsiCo, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC. Gibson started with local agency Noble & Associates before moving to DDB Worldwide Communications Group in Dallas and The Food Group Agency in Tampa, Fla.
"I'm confident my leadership at these notable agencies representing distinguished companies was a valued contribution, and I'm grateful for the opportunities I've had to showcase my talents," Gibson says. "I truly believe my experience in the advertising industry, particularly representing food and restaurants, has allowed me to be so successful in the nonprofit sector, especially in food banking."
Her extracurricular involvement includes membership in Female Leaders in Philanthropy, a United Way initiative that connects women to the community and supports Ozarks Food Harvest's Weekend Backpack Program that sends children home with enough food to make it through a weekend.
"I've always believed women can have a powerful voice in society, but after my experience with FLIP the past two years, I have a greater understanding of the influence women have in civic affairs," Gibson says. "Hundreds of children in the Ozarks don't go home hungry because of these women."
