The Power of One

Book cover for "The Power of One" by Bryce Courtenay

Dear reader, perhaps you've heard of or read the book, "The Power of One" by South African-born, Australian author Bryce Courtenay. Or seen the movie starring Morgan Freeman and Daniel Craig in his feature film debut. It is an epic coming-of-age tale set mostly in 1940s apartheid South Africa, and I first read it while I was in the Peace Corps in Lesotho, Southern Africa.

But this post isn't about that story as much as it's about the idea that one person can make a significant difference in the world.

Over the weekend, I got to spend time with just such a person, Dee Ann McIntyre.

Dee Ann McIntyre

Dee Ann is a fierce supporter of the arts and of the non-profit I Co-Chair, the New Mexico State Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, which is how I met her.

From the first moment, I was impressed by her vivacious nature and kindness. Dee Ann smiles easily, listens intensely, and thinks fast. She is also kind and considerate of others and is generous with her time.

To say I immediately liked her would be an understatement.

Later, I found out that Dee Ann had a successful career in different admin support roles for government, working as the administrative assistant to then Kansas House Minority Leader Pete Loux in the mid-70s and later as assistant to the Senate majority leader. In 1976, she moved to Denver to work for Legis 50: the Center for Legislative Improvement as a project manager for the Model Committee Staff Project in Health. She moved to Oklahoma to become the director of Committee Staff for the State Senate in 1979. Then she joined the Alliance of American Insurers in Chicago in 1981, where she managed lobbyists in a five-state region. In 1989, she moved to Washington, D.C., where she managed the mid-Atlantic region for the Alliance. In 1991, she joined the National Association of Brokers in Washington, D.C., as director of state affairs.

Today, she uses her experience along with her organizational and networking skills to support the arts and recently produced an impactful touring exhibition called "Finding Parkinson's - Doing Battle with my Brain" by C. David Thomas. The artist in the exhibition was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2017 and superimposed his face expressing different raw emotions onto his brain scans, and the resulting images were powerful.

The exhibition has primarily stayed on the East Coast, but because of Dee Ann's tireless, passionate work, she found an exhibition space at the prestigious New Mexico Museum of Art Vladem Contemporary in Santa Fe.

The purpose of the exhibit is to increase awareness and understanding of Parkinson's and to share that creative acts (singing, playing music, drawing, painting, etc.), along with physical exercise, can slow the progression of the disease.

Dee Ann was in the gallery every day of the 2 weeks that the show was open to the public, and she also organized two panel discussions on different aspects of Parkinson's during the exhibition. Those panel discussions were held in a different location from the Museum, so this past Saturday, I gallery sat for an afternoon while Dee Ann hosted a panel discussion.

As I greeted visitors and explained the exhibition, I was moved by how meaningful it was to them. Many of the people who came in either have Parkinson's or know someone who does, and they often stood transfixed in front of the artwork. People who just wandered in as they explored the Museum were also touched by the raw emotion in the images.

I kept a running tally of visitors and struggled to keep up as there were so many people interested in seeing the work. If I had to guess, I'd say 50 people came in over 4 hours, and more wanted to come in as the Museum was closing.

As an artist, I know how difficult it is to get people to see and appreciate your artwork, so the fact that so many people were interested and moved by the art warmed my artist's soul.

But none of that would have happened without Dee Ann!

She made a difference to the artist, to all the people who saw the artwork and/or attended the panel discussions, and to me.

Then, after that long day, Dee Ann attended an opening reception for the Pastel Society of New Mexico's new exhibition. I'm an artist member of the PSNM, so I also went.

If I was feeling tired, I can only imagine how tired Dee Ann was! But she had a smile on her face and a sparkle in her eye. Why? Well, I imagine it's because art and supporting art bring her joy and a sense of fulfillment.

She is making a difference, and I am honored to know her.

At the Pastel Society of New Mexico's opening reception at Legends of the West gallery in Santa Fe. From left to right: Susan Roden, Dee Ann McIntyre, me, and Nancy Dean Kreger.