Who is Donna McCally?
I’m a property owner, just like you, who wants our community to flourish. Life is already too complicated to have to worry about insignificant infractions arbitrarily imposed through overzealousness. However, watchful eyes are needed to ensure covenants are preserved and architectural standards are upheld. There should be no cause for infringement, harm, or devaluation of any neighbor or their property. Let me be your watch dog. Not only will I make sure covenants and standards are upheld, but I’ll also make sure any decisions affecting Blue Hills are above board and well-communicated to the property owners.
More than you will ever want to know about me…
PERSONAL HISTORY: (family members, interests, education, etc.)
Married to Mike McCally. No children. We have a dog and a cat, and my half-Arabian mare is in show training. I am a former journalist with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. I was editor of my college newspaper. I began my career as a general and investigative reporter for mid-sized newspapers and made the switch to public relations in the mid-90s, promoting the economic development programs and activities of both the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce and the Biomedical Research Foundation of Northwest Louisiana. I am a graduate of Leadership Shreveport-Bossier.
In 2000 I achieved professional accreditation from the Public Relations Society of America, and I pivoted to corporate communications with General Motors (Fortune 2 at the time). Within this time frame, I took up scuba diving as a hobby and special interest, diving multiple destinations throughout the Caribbean, including the Blue Hole. I also founded ShreveportRocks.com and published “Music Scene Magazine” for a short time in Northwest Louisiana and East Texas as philanthropic promotional tools for local musicians.
In 2015 I joined the marketing team at AT&T Cybersecurity and pivoted my educational focus to technology and cybersecurity. I took several cybersecurity and IT certification courses through SANS, ISC2, and Collin College before pursuing a cybersecurity degree from Champlain College. As with others around the world, my path was disrupted by the pandemic in 2020. After struggling the past three years through critical illness and other hardships, I am adamant that my life in Blue Hills is as pleasant and rewarding as humanly possible and happily offer my service to help ensure the sanctity of our new community for ourselves and our neighbors.
PERTINENT EXPERIENCE/QUALIFICATIONS: (employment history, prior experience in a homeowner’s association, prior experience on a committee, or Board of Directors, etc.)
I was a member of the founding board for the Gingerbread House, a Children’s Advocacy Center established in Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1998 with the mission of protecting children involved in forensic investigations.
During my time overseeing community involvement for the GM Assembly Plant in Arlington, Texas, I served on the board of the Friends and Foundation of the Arlington Public Library.
Blue Hills HOA is my fourth neighborhood home association. I have owned homes in HOA communities in Shreveport, Louisiana, and Flower Mound, Texas.
By profession, I am currently a global corporate communicator for Lenovo’s Solutions and Services Group. Lenovo is a multinational tech company specializing in designing, manufacturing, and marketing consumer electronics, personal computers, software, business solutions, and related services. As of 2021, Lenovo is the world’s largest personal computer vendor by unit sales.
My education, training, and professional experience from 2000 to 2022 can be found under my LinkedIn profile: www.linkedin.com/in/donnamccally. I joined the Lenovo team in March of 2023. Please note my executive communications, event management, and employee communications experience.
DESIRE/REASON FOR SERVING ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS: (interest in neighborhood, improvements in the community, etc.)
My desire is to use my experience and expertise, particularly in the area of communications, to foster a cohesive and harmonious community spirit. Sometimes desired outcomes are achieved by how messages are presented rather than the message itself. Often, conflict can be avoided through well-crafted tactics and words. I, myself, have found offense by some messaging and approaches I believe can be improved upon, and I am guilty of acting out of character when presented with Blue Hills correspondence. I’d like to help ensure thoughtfulness and sincerity prevail whenever we interact in our community, even with the hard conversations.
PLATFORM/EXPECTATIONS TO COMPLETE WHILE ON THE BOARD: (assist the neighborhood in City projects, desire to have a neighborhood voice in educational issues, etc.)
I commit to meeting, welcoming, and interacting with our homeowners. If they are having trouble with yard maintenance because a family member is gravely ill, for instance, I want to know that in hopes that we can find a solution that preserves a caring and neighborly spirit within our community. If agreeable, I’d like to publish or contribute to a community bulletin to highlight the human element of our neighborhood. I also offer my services in helping craft communications that will be well received and produce desired results. More than anything, I want to help create an environment where every neighbor feels welcomed and valued.
COMMITMENTS THAT WILL ASSIST/DETER YOU FROM SERVING ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS: (travel, employment, regular meetings, etc.)
My job is 100% remote, meaning that I will work out of my home with occasional travel for business. So, I’ll be in the neighborhood most of time. My workday begins with online meetings at 7 a.m., and I generally get to break at 2 p.m. with overseas meetings and collaboration resuming at 7 p.m. But there are only a couple of days each week that I have mandatory meetings in the evenings.
OTHER COMMENTS:
I am very much looking forward to enjoying our new home and helping make our community the best it can be for all neighbors.
What do I do?
I’m a product communications manager for one of the world’s largest tech companies. I’m part of a global team and will be working 100% remotely from my home in Blue Hills. As someone who will be in the neighborhood all the time, I’m supremely interested in making it a great place to live, not just for my little family (husband Mike, our little dog, and old cat), but for everyone.
