Local Artist To Give Away Signed Copies Of Jake Gibbs Poster

Rosie Vassallo, a local graphic designer and artist, will be giving away 250 Jake Gibbs posters at the Allen Samuels Tent in the Grove this Saturday before the Texas A&M game.

The poster is a watercolor wash with graphics added to it. Vassallo will be signing these and they will be free to fans. The Allen Samuels tent will be by the Walk of Champions in the Grove, closer to University Drive than the union.

Jake Gibbs played Ole Miss Football and Baseball, and Ole Miss Athletics is honoring his legacy by adding his name to the new Letterwinner Walk. According to Ole Miss Athletics, the new Jake Gibbs Letterwinner Walk will honor every Ole Miss athlete who ever earned a letter competing for Ole Miss and will also be a part of the Walk of Champions, which will connect to the new entrance to Vaught Hemingway Stadium’s north end zone.

Gibbs lead Ole Miss to a pair of national titles and was the Rebels’ quarterback from 1958-60. He played baseball professionally and later coached Ole Miss baseball. The new Letterwinner walk will be unveiled October 2016.

Vassallo is originally a native of San Antonio, Texas. She has a B.A. in Advertising Design from Texas Christian University. She is married to Steve Vassallo, and currently is an administrative assistant for the Oxford-Lafayette Chamber of Commerce and director of the Oxford-Lafayette Retiree Attraction program.

Vassallo loves to design, paint and draw in her spare time. She is a pet portrait artist and has been commissioned to do paintings for people all over the United States. In 2004, Vassallo won the Oxford-Lafayette County Chamber Community Guide Cover art competition. The chamber made prints from the cover and won the PRAM PRism Award for the chamber (the highest award in public relations.) PRAM PRism began in 2003 as a way to honor and recognize outstanding work in the field of public relations by professionals in the state of Mississippi.

“I take great pride in my work and love making people happy through this valuable talent the Lord has given me,” Vassallo said.

Vassallo has won a number of first place awards for her artwork from Texas, Tennessee, New Jersey and Kentucky. She won the cover for 2005, 2007, 2014 and 2015. All of her prints are sold out except the 2014 and the newest print for this year.

She was also the Executive Director for Madison The City Chamber of Commerce for 13 years, and was Madison The City Chamber Dynamic Women Honoree in 2007. Vassallo was named Mississippi Business Journal Who’s Who 2005, as well as Top 50 Leading Business Women 2006.

She has painted photos of several Ole Miss football coaches including Houston Nutt and Hugh Freeze.

Vassallo’s prints are for sale at the Oxford-Lafayette County Chamber for $25, and can be shipped for an additional $8.

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Kathryn Winter is a social media specialist and staff reporter for hottytoddy.com. You can e-mail her at kathryn.winter@hottytoddy.com