Introducing PalletPalooza 2016 Judge Matt Giraud

Isn't this exciting! We are so happy to have Matt Giraud on the PalletPalooza Team as a judge for our inaugural PalletPalooza™ competition!

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Matt Giraud

Matt Giraud is a singer/songwriter from Kalamazoo, Michigan who achieved national recognition and acclaim for his performances on the hit Fox TV show, American Idol. As a favorite of the judges, he was the first ever recipient of the judges’ save, Matt went on to finish 5th on Season 8 of American Idol (2008-2009).

Since then, Matt has appeared on various media outlets and talk shows (i.e. The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Live with Regis & Kelly). He continues to tour all over the world and most recently has been playing with some of the biggest symphonies in the US. He has performed on stages such as The Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, The Phoenix Symphony Hall in Phoenix and for a crowd of over 9000 for the Taste of Kalamazoo in Michigan.

Matt has also had major successes on iTunes by working with seasoned songwriters and artists. He recorded a cover of the song "You Don't Know Me" with Anna Wilson, which can be found on her album titled Countrypolitan Duets. The song went on to be #1 on the iTunes Jazz chart in 2010. He also recorded the song “Thank You” with Jim Brickman in 2010, which reached #16 on the Hot AC charts.

Matt continues to perform and write new music. He  released a full-length album in 2014 and released an EP called "Live at River City" on December 17, 2013.

Matt's Official Website: mattgiraudmusic.com

And more good stuff:
Facebook.com/mattgiraud

twitter.com/ImMattGiraud

Instagram.com/immattgiraud

itunes.apple.com/us/artist/matt-giraud

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Ready to enter PalletPalooza? The deadline to enter and submit photos of your finished creation is Midnight June 30, 2016. 

Enter Here: PalletSWMI.com

Introducing PalletPalooza™ 2016 Judge - Jim Bridenstine

We are so excited to announce our Judges for PalletPalooza 2016. Our distiguished judges will be deciding the top five pallet projects in each of the four categories. They also will be awarding the overall PalletPalooza 2016 Winner! Today we would like to introduce you to PalletPalooza Judge Jim Bridenstine.

Jim Bridenstine

Jim Bridenstine served as the Executive Director of the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts for over 24, almost 25, years. He is an art historian who earned a bachelor's degree in history from The College of Holy Cross and a master's degree in the History of Art (American Art) from George Washington University. He also completed Harvard University's Institute of Arts Administration program. Prior to the KIA, Bridenstine was the director of the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House. Raised in Detroit, he also worked at the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Toledo Museum of Art.  Bridenstine helped build the KIA's permanent collection, which has developed into more than 4,200 pieces, 1,700 of them collected during his tenure.

Currently he is enjoying retirement but is still very active in the Kalamazoo scene.

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The deadline to enter PalletPalooza is June 30th! So don't delay! Your projects must be completed and a photo submitted by midnight 6/30/16.

Enter at PalletSWMI.com

Have questions? You can reach us at 269.382.0490 or email info@palletswmi.com.