When my family launched this website for our son Jackson, he was still in middle school. He’s now entering his senior year of high school. Time flies doesn’t it?
To date, Jackson has gained several accolades for his art: winning a VSA Artist of the Year award in 2018 and gaining professional gallery representation from Sage Studios in early 2019. None of these accomplishments would have been possible without having a strong online presence for him with his own website: Jackson’s EyeTV website.
And this reality could not have happened without several very dedicated creative professionals that served as volunteers on Team JacksonsEyeTV.com: Anne Hebert, Jonathan Sultemeier, and Jordan Smith.
As his parent, I wanted the website to happen for years but wasn’t sure how to organize it. Enter Anne Hebert an independent marketing consultant in Austin whom* I met back in 2000 when our mutual friend JJ Baskin introduced us.
In 2015, JJ passed away from cancer, but his uncanny gift at connecting people was the spark that eventually led to this website. JJ’s introduction to Anne led to her involvement in this endeavor and for that, I believe that JJ’s role is an important side note in all things related to Jackson’s artistic success. Thank you, JJ!
Over the years, Anne and I kept in touch as our lives traveled down parallel paths, of children, career, and community engagement. In 2013, when Jackson had his first art show Anne and her son (also a fantastic artist, cartographer, and watercolorist), attended. When Anne left, she said to me, “This (looking around at Jackson’s art show) needs to be a website. This story needs to be told and not just to your friends.”
And with that, the idea for this website was born. At that time, I felt overwhelmed with autism parenting and advocacy and I was unable to visualize how I would create, design and write a website, and so Anne basically held my hand for two years. She gave me ideas, reviewed my copy and most importantly, brought in a designer, Jonathan Sultemeier, owner/designer of Apoterra Design.
Jonathan is a gifted web designer who also chose to gift Jackson’s life with a fully created and designed website FOR FREE. I sent him Jackson’s art files and he turned them into this wonderfully playful and lively site that you read today. He gave us this gift out of his heart and to help Jackson achieve his dream to be a “big artist.” This is a tremendous pro bono project and one we are eternally grateful for. If you ever need design or website services, please reach out to Jonathan.
In life, so many people are there to help you and I have been blessed (and yes, that is the correct term here, there is no other way to put it) that people have heard about Jackson’s mind and his interests and his ambition to “tell the world about autism” and have been inspired to help us.
For years, Jonathan hosted our site and then, he found a volunteer, Jordan Smith, a web designer, developer and SEO consultant based in Savannah, GA, to provide this WordPress hosting and WP support, again FOR FREE. And once again, if you need web support, hosting, coding, SEO, please do what his website states and “Hire Jordan Smith!”
All three of these creative professionals have been patient with me, supportive of Jackson and provided their services PRO BONO so that Jackson’s message can reach a larger audience. I am humbled and awed by Anne, Jonathan, and Jordan who have given their time and expertise to Team Jackson thus allowing Jackson to have a public presence with the ultimate goal of one day becoming a working artist.
We couldn’t have done it without you! Thank you!