VPPA Blue Ridge District Happy New Year!! January 2015
Thoughts from the Secretary... Boy....The incoming Blue Ridge District Officers have a really hard act to follow. A debt of gratitude to the outgoing Officers. Thanks so much for your dedication to making the VPPA a better place. Speaking of gratitude and thanks, that’s what a lot of moving into a New Year revolve s around. So many of us have a wonderful year we can reflect upon and grow from. Time isn’t going to stop for us so we may as well make the most of our opportunities . Here’s me raising a glass to a wonderful, prosperous and lucrative 2015. May your visions be clear!
this issue
From the Governor...
HAPPY NEW YEAR to the Blue Ridge VPPA!!
I am so excited to be serving as the Governor for the Blue Ridge district and you have my commitment to do my absolute best to bring accurate information from the state level to our super group of photogs!! I am even more excited about the team of members I will be working with including: "Me" Governor, Jen Chaconas "The Amazing Talented" Lieutenant Governor, Marjorie Stallard- CPP "The Ultimate Behind the Scenes Personality and Super Photog" Secretary, Robert Hedge "The One that Keeps Us Financially Organized and Reigning Treasurer" Treasurer, Sharon Davidson- CPP
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From the Governor P.1
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From the Lt.Governor P.2
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Upcoming Events P.2
As you all know, our annual print critique is right around the corner! This is a fantastic way to have our very talented judges Kevin Hurley, Jim Carpenter, and Shannon Turner provide constructive criticism for images you are considering entering in competition OR if you would just like feedback on how to make them better. It is all about improving and continuing to learn to be our BEST! We proactively would like to thank these three judges for committing to our district to assist with such an important task. Date: January 5th Venue: Kevin Hurley's studio Time: 1-5(ish) Optional lunch location: 12pm @http://wildflour4thst.com/ Please NOTE: This is the 4th street location NOT the Towers Mall location. Let me know via email at jollyjenphotography@gmail.com if you will be attending so we can space reserved for the appropriate number of people. ________________________________________________________________________________ In the meantime, start getting your images sent over to Kevin at hurleyphoto@aol.com so he will have ample time to get them ready for the critique. They MUST be emailed over to him by Friday, January 2nd. Membership due date was December 1st, 2014. If you have not paid your dues, please do so ASAP to remain in good standings for the upcoming year. David Lee helped with making this easier for all of us by providing an online payment option via www.vppa.org website. ____________________________________________________________________________________ As we look into the new year, one focus we have for the Blue Ridge District is to increase our membership. I will bring the newest membership application to our January meeting for you to encourage potential members to join our amazing organization. Hope to see you January 5thand CHEERS to an awesome new year!!! 2015... Here we come! All the best,
Jen Chaconas
From the Lt. Governor...
Side Notes... A heartfelt Thank You to all of our past officers. The 2015 BRVPPA Officers are excited for our new roles and we’re listening. Please notify any of us with suggestions, comments, or general chat. Gov Jen Chaconas jollyjenphotography@ gmail.com Lt Gov Marjorie Stallard, CPP mkstallard@comcast. net Sharon Davidson, CPP, AFP sharon@sharondavidsonphotography.com Sec Robert Hedge robert@rwhedgephoto. com
Happy New Year! Now that the holiday season has passed, it is time to start thinking of the 2 C’s ... Competition and Convention. Two events I am definitely looking forward to! I always kid myself that my first quarter is my down time, when in reality it is not. One way to get ready for competition is by attending our January meeting. The January meeting is Monday, January 5th at 1 p.m. and will be at Kevin Hurley’s studio. We will start with lunch at Wildflour restaurant at noon. Be sure to RSVP to Kevin at hurleyphoto@ aol.com. Also, if you want to participate in the print critique please forward your images to Kevin by January 3rd. If you haven’t participated in a print critique before, this is definitely a meeting you will not want to miss! I am thrilled to serve as the 2015 Lt. Governor for the BRVPPA and look forward to working with and meeting all the awesome talent we have right here in our area! I am currently planning our 2015 calendar . Please let me know if there is a photographer (or topic)
in particular you are interested in. There is so much changing in our industry and we can learn so much from one another. Please let me know if you are interested in speaking. Send your ideas and requests to mkstallard@comcast. net I hope to see everyone at the Convention February 20th - 24th. Mardi Gras at the Sheraton Richmond Park South! This promises to be an awesome event. You can find more information at www.vppa.org. We tentatively have a speaker lined up for March that you will not want to miss. More details soon. If you are on Facebook, be sure to join and participate in the groups we currently have set up. You can definitely stay up to date on what’s going on as well as communicate with fellow members. (VPPA Competition Prints, VPPA Blue Ridge District, VPPA Prop Exchange). Be sure to friend me and introduce yourself also! Looking forward to an awesome and productive 2015! -Marjorie Stallard, CPP
One final thing.... and probably one of my favorite things of the year is MARK YOUR CALENDARS for the February Convention. Tracy McGee and her team have worked extremely hard to bring talent to our area that will provide us with valuable education that will help us all continue to grow... Feb.20th (pre-con classes begin)- Feb. 24th. Go to the VPPA page on Facebook for the agenda that Tracy posted on December 27th.