Ballard-Gribble honored by ASID
Farragut commercial designer Susan Ballard-Gribble was honored Thursday, Sept. 21, in Short Sheet Fabrics, 10924 Kingston Pike, as an inductee in the College of Fellows Award by the local chapter of American Society of Interior Designers.
“From award-winning designer to community service volunteer and advocate for the profession and ASID, Ballard-Gribble has done amazing work for interior design,” an ASID press release stated. “Ballard-Gribble is a true champion and advocate for the right to practice, dedicating hundreds of hours in support of Tennessee Interior Design legislation.
“It’s a great honor,” said Ballard-Gribble, president of SK Ballard Contract Interiors and member of ASID. “It’s been a 33-year journey to get here.
Ballard-Gribble “went beyond the call of duty to serve,” said member Anne Simpkins IDS, ASID’s Knoxville district chair.
As service is a big part of how a Fellow inductee is chosen, “You don’t get anything out of it unless you put something into it,” Ballard-Gribble said.
“My time with ASID has been invaluable — the leadership skills, training, friendships, travel,” Ballard-Gribble said. “I encourage students, every time I talk to them, how important it is to be part of a professional organization and have that opportunity to learn.”
Graduating from University of Tennessee, her firm designs hotels, banks, restaurants, churches, offices and other businesses. While Ballard-Gribble has been in the design business 33 years, she has been business for herself for 10 years.
Ballard-Gribble has been nominated three times for the fellowship. Through the years, she has won 27 design awards and was appointed by two governors of Tennessee to the Architectural and Engineering Board of Examiners, on which she served for eight years.
“She had to go to Nashville every other month for a meeting,” Simpkins said of Ballard-Gribble. “She was many other offices, many other committees and many other things.”
“ASID’s Fellows embody the Society’s ideals through their work in advocacy, mentorship and advancement of the practice. This year’s inductees have not only excelled in their careers, but through their work have influenced and positioned interior design as a profession with the power to impact lives,” said Khoi Vo, chief executive officer of ASID.
“The successes of these fellows inspire and illuminate the paths of other designers,” he added.
