Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country | Founded 05-05-05

|| High Country Press Newswire

March 20, 2008 issue

CEO of Southern Shows Speaks April 1

Joan H. Zimmerman, chief executive officer of Southern Shows Inc., will be the speaker at the Harlan E. Boyles Distinguished CEO Lecture at Appalachian State University on Tuesday, April 1, at 2:00 p.m. in Broyhill Music Center’s Rosen Concert Hall. A reception will follow at 3:15 p.m. at the Broyhill Inn and Conference Center.

Zimmerman, who was educated in England, founded Southern Shows Inc. in 1959 and produced her first show in 1960. Charlotte-based Southern Shows produces consumer shows, such as the Southern Spring Home and Garden Show, the Southern Christmas Show and a series of Women’s Shows across the region.

Zimmerman is past chair of the Charlotte Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Va. She received the inaugural Charlotte Business Woman of the Year award presented by Queens University in 1986, and the Business Journal’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Women in Business. In 2005, Zimmerman was inducted into the N.C. Business Hall of Fame.

Zimmerman mentors new business owners and has served many major organizations in a leadership role.

The lecture series, sponsored by the Walker College of Business, is named for the late Harlan E. Boyles, who served for 24 years as N.C. state treasurer. The lecture and reception are open to the public. For more information, call 828-262-2057.