About the Dick Knight Award
The Northshore Community Foundation is proud to award the Dick Knight Award, in honor of the late Richard F. “Dick” Knight, a founding and beloved board member. The annual $5,000 Award will recognize an individual for his or her commitment and service to the charitable, nonprofit sector in the four parish region. The spirit of the award is to recognize nonprofit staff who have significant tenure in service-based work and have a body of accomplishments that reflect success through diligence, commitment, resiliency, vision, and excellence.
The award must be used for personal enrichment and cannot be donated back to any nonprofit. The Foundation would like to thank Resource Bank, the Gia Maione Prima Foundation and the Fund for Bogalusa for the contributions to making this years award possible.
Community members may submit nominations of qualified candidates, as names of the nominators are not disclosed. The Selection Committee, consisting of board members of the Foundation and other community leaders, vote and submit their recommendation to the Foundation’s Board of Directors for final approval.
Inside Northside article about Dick’s life and generosity
Award Winners
2024 Award Winner Dorothy Garcia with Boy Scouts of America
Northshore Community Foundation is thrilled to have Dorothy Garcia with Boy Scouts of America as the recipient of the 7th Annual Dick Knight Award! With over 28 years of dedicated service in the nonprofit sector, Dorothy's unwavering commitment and servant leadership have left a lasting mark, especially in her remarkable work with children. She embodies the very essence of our esteemed Founding Board Member, Dick Knight.
Garcia has held the position of Sr. District Executive for the Boy Scouts of America since 2009. She proudly serves close to 1,000 Scouts and their families in many local Cub Scout Packs, Scouts BSA Troops, and Venture Crews, plus a Sea Scout Ship and an Explorer Post throughout St. Tammany, Washington, Tangipahoa, and East Livingston parishes. Before her work with the Boy Scouts, Dorothy was a founding Board member with the Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) – Hope House for seven years, then became the Executive Director of the CAC – Hope House for the next six years.
Additionally, she is the Club Secretary for the Greater Covington Kiwanis Club since 2009, a graduate of the Leadership St. Tammany Class of 2005, a founding Board member of STOPS (St. Tammany Outreach for the Prevention of Suicide) since 2002, a longtime member of the St. Tammany Exchange Club since 1995, and even more. Dorothy - you are truly an inspiration and blessing to our community!
2023 Award Winner Rob Carlisle of Child Advocacy Services
Northshore Community Foundation is proud to have Rob Carlisle of Child Advocacy Services as the recipient of the Sixth Annual Dick Knight Award for his more than 25 years of nonprofit service to the Northshore. “We honor Dick’s legacy by recognizing the steadfast servant leadership Rob has demonstrated throughout his long career. His remarkable, unwavering commitment to the mission of Child Advocacy Services perfectly represents the spirit in which Dick lived his life,” said Susan Bourgeois, President Emeritus.
Carlisle has worked in the nonprofit sector in the region for more than 25 years, 17 of which were in the role of the Chief Executive Officer of Child Advocacy Services. Rob’s steadfast efforts to protect the most vulnerable among us has changed the lives of countless children in our region. He leads with his heart and his character and integrity shine through in everything he does.
2021 Award Winner Kakki Taliancich of the West St. Tammany YMCA
Fifth Annual Dick Knight Award is Kakki Taliancich of the West St. Tammany YMCA for her more than 35 years of nonprofit service to the Northshore. The award is given annually in honor of the late Richard F. “Dick” Knight, and we honor his legacy by recognizing the steadfast servant leadership Kakki has demonstrated throughout her long career. Her remarkable, unwavering commitment to the mission of the YMCA, perfectly represents the spirit in which Dick lived his life,” said Bourgeois.
Taliancich has worked in the nonprofit sector in the region for more than 35 years, nine of which were in the role of Associate Director of the West St. Tammany YMCA. Having never had a desire to pursue the executive director position, she is a true servant of the people and shines in that role. Originally from New Orleans, she recently retired from the 10th Street YMCA to spend more time with her granddaughter.
“Kakki is one of the most selfless people I know. She has been the backbone of our facility, the heart of our mission and the hope that people often need to hear to get through the day,” said Joey Roberts, Executive Director of the St. Tammany YMCA. “She thinks that she is ordinary but proves daily that “ordinary” people can do extraordinary things. I am ecstatic that she was chosen for this honor and I appreciate everyone that carries the weight of the nonprofit world in their hearts.”
2020 Award Winner - Rev. L. Stephen Holzhalb III of Christwood Retirement Community
Father Steve, as he is known by many, has served as Executive Officer of the Christwood Retirement Community since January of 2004. In the early 1980s, when serving as rector of Covington’s Christ Episcopal Church, he first proposed the idea of a Northshore senior care facility to his vestry. After decades of unrelenting, persistent work and fundraising his vision became a reality as Christwood opened its doors in May of 1996.
Earlier in his career, Father Steve was a driving force in the founding of Christ Episcopal School. He served as president of the founding board, and as a result of his unmatched enthusiasm and focus and the help and work of many other devoted individuals, the school opened its doors for the 1984 school year with thirty-four students and six teachers on staff. Today Christ Episcopal School is among the largest Episcopal schools in Louisiana.
Steve has been described as a ‘Johnny Appleseed” in the establishment and enrichment of numerous other nonprofits on the Northshore, assisting in the formation of Hospice of St. Tammany, Habitat for Humanity St. Tammany West and what is now known as the Northshore Food Bank. He also became the Northshore liaison for the Jerimiah Group, an organization that works to form bridges across divided neighborhoods, as well as promoting economic opportunity and education.
2019 Award Winner - Ola Magee of Regina Coeli CDC
The recipient of the Third Annual Dick Knight Award is Mrs. Ola Magee, Program Director of the Regina Coeli Child Development Center (RCCDC). “We honor Dick’s legacy by recognizing the life-long service that Ola has given to Head Start and the children and families of her community. Her dedication and philanthropic heart are the embodiment of the spirit in which Dick lived his life,” said Bourgeois.
Having started as a volunteer at a Head Start facility in Franklinton in 1971, Magee was soon hired and her true passion for caring for others began to shine. While she and her husband were raising four children of their own, Magee took night classes at Southeastern to get her teaching certificate and later earned a B.S. in Education while rising through the organization with a reputation as a loving and devoted teacher, employee and leader.
“Because Mr. Knight set the bar high for providing community service, I feel extremely honored to have been selected. As a result, I will continue to give in selfless sevice and inspire others to do likewise.”
“Ola has a gift for teaching in a way that is best for each individual child. She has helped to open 19 new Head Start centers and has taught countless teachers across the state to be a compassionate and caring educator. In my opinion, Ola Magee is the epitome of service to the community, just like Dick Knight, and her accomplishments reflect this. She truly lives and works to do What’s Best for Children, the core of the RCCDC motto,” said Dr. Susan Spring, Executive Director RCCDC, which provides comprehensive early childhood services to over 1,800 children and employs over 500 people in a five-parish area of Southeast Louisiana.
Inside Northside article about winner Ola Magee
2018 Award Winner - Myrna Jordan of Our Daily Bread
In 2001, a spry 70-year-old Myrna Jordan assumed the role of Executive Director as a volunteer. She accepted the job because she loved people and wanted to meet the needs of her community. Compensation never entered her mind. Myrna continued to serve as the volunteer Executive Director of Our Daily Bread for 17 years until her retirement in 2018, managing a staff of nine paid employees and over 400 volunteers. Because of her success, Our Daily Bread now serves as a “parent” food bank to 26 smaller, local distribution pantries; distributes 30,000 boxes of food annually with a total value of over $2.6 million dollars; serves 14,400 children and 13,000 seniors annually; and provides food to youth programs, rehabilitation centers, homeless shelters and the local veterans home. There is no better example of commitment, servant leadership and quiet impact than Myrna Jordan who epitomizes all the attributes of this awards’ namesake.
“The Dick Knight award was such an honor to receive and so unexpected. I would like to thank the Northshore Community Foundation for recommending me for this award and especially thank them for all of the support they gave to Our Daily Bread food bank through the years. I would also like to send my personal thanks to the Knight family, Resource Bank, the Gia Maione Prima Foundation and the Fund for Bogalusa for their generous support of this gift,” said Jordan.
2017 Award Winner - Dianne Baham of STARC
In 1972, under Dianne Baham’s leadership, STARC began serving three children in St. Tammany Parish in a donated facility, with two staff members and a budget of $2,500. Today, STARC serves more than 1,000 individuals and their families at any given time, throughout the Florida Parishes at 13 different sites with more than 330 staff members and a $7.9 million dollar budget. STARC’s mission is to provide a lifetime of Services, Training, Advocacy, Resources, and Community connections for individuals with disabilities. In addition to the program impact of Diane’s work, she has also built a strong financial foundation for STARC, including private donations and a dedicated local millage to support STARC’s work.
A selection committee, consisting of local community leaders, selected Baham out of a pool of 13 highly impressive nominees. It seemed no better way to commemorate National Philanthropy Day and the dedicated service of these individuals than by announcing the award.
“I have had the honor of knowing Dianne and her work in our region for many years. And also knowing the character of my dear friend Dick Knight, I can’t think of anyone more deserving of this first award in is name and memory. Our region is better because both Dianne and Dick used their time and talent to serve, and we are all very grateful,” said Chris Keller, CEO of Resource Bank.