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Take a bough: Copley designer has a hand in this year's White House Christmas decor
April Helms
Akron Beacon Journal
Dec. 9, 2022
By this point in the holiday season, people are either thinking of ways to deck their halls or perhaps have finished trimming their trees and abodes.
But one Copley woman had the opportunity to help decorate a famous house for the holiday season.
Jill Pangas, who operates Jill Pangas Designs, LLC., was one of the volunteer decorators selected to help festoon the White House with holiday ribbons and decor.
Yes, that White House. The one in Washington, where the president lives.
"This has been a Christmas wish for years," said Pangas. "This is the ultimate design project I could do. I've been sending in applications for four years."
"I've been decorating and designing all my life," Pangas said.
She only recently started a business focussed on interior deisgn, events, orchid arrangements and Christmas decorating. But her artistic touch has been seen for years at events such as the Akron Children's Hospital Holiday Tree Festival and at Stan Hywet Hall's Deck The Hall.
Pangas said she decided to go from strictly designing for family, friends and community events to making it a business after receiving a letter from the first lady regarding her petition to be one of the White House designers.
"The second letter had a line that I should 'please follow your natural gifts locally'," she said. "So that is what inspired me to go into business."
While the fourth time was a charm, Pangas said she almost didn't apply. However, a friend of hers, a designer in Columbus who has gone to the White House twice as a volunteer decorator, encouraged her to do so.
Pangas was a part of the group assigned to decorate the grand foyer. A team member at the White House was assigned to about 10 volunteers. Generally, volunteers are assigned for three days at the start of the decorating period, or the three days at the end, but Panags was selected to be there for the entire week.
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