President's Message
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Wow! How time has passed so quickly! I find it hard to believe that the time hascome that I am President of our great association; Tennessee Professional Photographer’s Association. This is a fine organization comprised of a verytalented group of photographers. The willingness of these exceptionally gifted photographers to help other photographers who are in need and the desire to
share knowledge with our colleagues stands s testimony of the purpose upon which the organization was founded. I believe we have one of the greatest associations in the Southeast!
My first convention, I was overwhelmed by established photographers whose many awards and medals seemingly dragged the ground. I wasn’t sure that I actuallybelonged in the organization. But, Ron Warrick, the President at the time, welcomed me with the utmost respect and encouragement. This one thing I hope to continue.
I aspire to lead our association in welcoming our new members with a hearty handshake and helpful encouragement to become involved. I hope we can all recognize that new members and long time members can all invest time, talent, and energy and truly become active, contributing members. We all need to recognizethat we each have something special to share, to know that there are others willing to share and to help each member realize that it is easy and vitally important to be a cooperating, working member of this association. We need to give each other a helping hand through cooperation, friendship and encouragement.
My motto is: Today’s Challenges +Today’s Education = Tomorrow’s Success. We as professional photographers cannot sit back and allow the world to move on without us. Our business has changed drastically over the past 10 years and we must invest in our profession and ultimately in ourselves as we learn and grow to be more successful in the current market. As I see it, we professional photographers must continually seek opportunities to educate ourselves and strive to grow with today’s market. And one way to attain this is through education.
A great way to do this is by attending events provided through your membership in TNPPA. You’ll not only avail yourself to like minded professionals but you will gain knowledge to enhance your skills for current marketing and business methods and strategies.
Membership in TNPPA enables on to take advantage of numerous opportunities to advance your skills and network with others in our profession and related professions. I invite you to take the fantastic educational opportunities that membership in TNPPA offers. TNPPA’s annual convention takes place August 19-23, 2011 in Franklin, Tennessee. Be sure to mark these dates on your calendar and make plans now to attend!
Another exciting event is the Spring Seminar which will be held in Murfreesboro, TN, March 5-7, 2011. It will be held at the Double Tree Hotel. Speakers are Chandelle Brown-Children, Heather Kallhoff-Creative Images, Ross Benton-Photoshop, and Scott and Adine Hayne – Weddings. CJ Johnson has a star studded lineup for! Registration for the Spring Seminar is currently available on theTNPPA website (www.tnppa.com).
Much appreciation goes to Tom Smith, our web master, for his dedication to making information about our association more accessible.I want to thank our Board of Directors, the Past Presidents, and the membershipof our great association for their support and encouragement over the years. Iextend my great appreciation to Kendall Mathes for a great convention this pastAugust. For those who were not there, you missed a fantastic opportunity for newideas, new business strategies, and especially for forging new friendships andrenewing old friendships. Please don’t let another
opportunity such as this passwithout you becoming involved.
So CHALLENGE YOURSELF this coming year!!! Get moving, get learning, get growing, and get going!! Go that extra mile for service to your association and to your clients. The Rewards and Education you receive are PRICELESS!!
Eddie Lambert, CPP, TSD, TCD
President, TNPPA
