Good afternoon! I hope each and every one of you are doing well!

As president, I wanted to give you an update on our association, some changes coming, and the activities we have planned so far.

PHOTOWORKS

Photoworks is next week! Have you registered? We can accept last minute registrations at gppa.com.

IMAGE COMPETITION

Image competition will be held at PPA headquarters on July 15. As we announced at Exposed last fall, we are no longer holding this event during Exposed. This places our competition in a better position in the calendar year between other regional competitions and IPC. This will give you time to have your images judged, and get an idea of your scores before moving to the next level competition. Plus, we'll have time to have any awards engraved and ready for the awards banquet at Exposed!

EXPOSED

Exposed will be October 3-4, 2020. As always, it will include amazing speakers and vendors, our awards banquet, membership meeting, and a chance to hang out with your photography family! We are holding a shorter state-wide convention in an effort to bring you a greater variety of activities and seminars throughout the year. We're excited about this new direction and hope it will mean more members can get involved. Watch your email and the website for forthcoming details about the venue and speakers.

CHANGES IN MEMBERSHIP RATES

Now, let’s talk about our membership rates. GPPA hasn’t raised rates in about 15 years. We have done our best to bring you the quality programming and content you deserve. To bring you even more content and continue improving that content, we have to increase our fees by a small amount. We are implementing a small increase in our membership rates that amounts to roughly 12% for yearly memberships. Monthly rates will increase more, so switching to a yearly membership will get you the best rate. These changes will take effect April 1, 2020.

You can see the complete list of membership levels and rates by clicking here.

TIM PRIEST AND SANDRA PEARCE.

We have two 2-day workshops coming up. Tim Priest is teaching a 2-day commercial photography workshop in April. This is a great chance to learn how to add commercial imaging to your offerings. Sandra Pearce, a master at painting in Photoshop, will be here in July for another 2-day event. Watch for those official announcements in your email and on gppa.com!

GET INVOLVED ONLINE AND IN PERSON

We continue to have an active online and in-person community. Follow us on Instagram at @gaprophotographers, and join our Facebook group at @gppamembers. Watch your email and gppa.com for information on member-led workshops, gatherings, and portfolio-building opportunities throughout the year, all over the state of Georgia.

In closing, the GPPA has served the professional photography community of the state of Georgia since 1959. I’ve been a member for most of my 26 years as a professional. I can tell you many stories of how I have been challenged and encouraged professionally, the friendships made, and the success experienced as a result of my being a part of this great group of people over those years.

We are writing new pages in the future of GPPA, and you are a huge part of it!

On behalf of your board of directors, I thank you!

As always, please contact me with any questions, concerns, or suggestions! My cell is 678-524-2501, and my email is mark@turnerphotodesign.com.

Sincerely,

Mark Turner, CPP, GSD, GFD

President, GPPA