The Viewfinder

PPGH 2019 Year in review

16 Dec 2019 3:34 PM | Duane Blocker, CPP (Administrator)

PPGH 2019 Year End Review

First of all happy Holidays to all of our members.

A week ago we held our annual holiday party and awards ceremony. It was a good time and we awarded lots of trophies for print competition and we gave away a ton of door prizes generously donated by vendors and many of our own members. If you didn’t make it this year make plans to attend next year. Nikky LaWell took photos for everyone who wanted them and Laura Mansur was taking candids. Kevin has put Nikky’s photos in an album on the members only facebook page. Go to Photos and then albums to see them.

This year was a busy one, we had 18 workshops, our number of print competition images doubled, the board meetings are now conducted online and we changed the Viewfinder to a Blog format. Another huge change was the revamp of our website with the majority of that work being done by Kevin Falcon earning him the selection of the president’s award:

  • I have chosen Kevin Falcon to receive this award. Kevin has been instrumental in reworking our web presence and assisting the transition to a blog format. Kevin has been there assisting me as president all throughout the year. In adition he has documented the various processes for the president’s role making my job so much easier. I was able to worry about content because he laid out what was expected. I did not need to reinvent the processes. Please thank Kevin for all of his hard work.

At the holiday party I called out a few of our members for their services: 

  • Sherry PicheFor 6 years Sherry has run our print competition. She will be stepping down from that role this year. I want everyone to thank Sherry for her dedication in this role. She’s been here for almost every meeting. She’s consolidated the years entries for the awards which is time consuming. Yet she has always been supportive and a joy to work with. I’ve personally worked with her for almost 5 of those years and she has been the “go to” person for the competition. Please thank her for her dedication.


  • Tara FlanneryFor the last two years Tara has been hauling around the print competition equipment and setting it up every month. For much of the time we had that very large and heavy speaker. Tara quietly gets the images the morning of the meeting, then sets up the equipment. I know what it takes yet for the last two years I’ve not really had to think of it. She will be rolling out of that role to be secretary but I wanted to thank her for that role.
  • Alison MontgomeryThe beginning of the year found us without a treasurer. Alison agreed to accept this role. Treasurer is such a key role and Alison has been a joy to work with and I know that I can always count on her. 
  • Theresa CampbellShe has been our Viewfinder editor for over 3 years. This is one of those tasks done in the background and yet it takes a tremendous amount of time. You have to beg for article to be written and then submitted on time. She has been involved with the transition to a blog format. She is working into a marketing role on the board and I wanted everyone to know of her efforts.
  • Aileen HardingShe has put together our workshops this year and last. We do our best to provide the best education possible while keeping the cost reasonable and giving our members chance to earn merits toward their PPA certifications. We put on about 20 of these a year so there are a lot of moving pieces. Please thank Aileen for her hard work.
  • Teri Whittaker Every organization has a person that is the glue that helps hold everything together. The person that knows the answers to all of the little things that go on day to day in an organization. Teri is PPGH’s glue. She is the executive director, works on all of the graphics, answers my endless questions. Please thank her for her endless help and work on your behalf.

Here is a list of the print competition award winners:

2019 PPGH Annual Image Competition Winners

MASTERS

Best Album 2019

Karen Butts

Best Digital Artist 2019

Karen Butts

Best Illustrative – Best Animal 2019

Aileen Harding

Best Illustrative 2019

Armando Chacon

Best Portrait – Child

Karen Butts

Best Portrait – Group

Karen Butts

Best Portrait – Man

Armando Chacon

******Different Trophy New last year*******

Master Best Overall Illustrative

Armando Chacon

Master Best Overall Photographic Open

Armando Chacon

ACTIVE

Best Illustrative 2019

Diana Waguespack

Best Illustrative – Scenic 2019

Maryanne Keeling

Best Portrait – Animal 2019

Allison Schmidt

Best Portrait – Child 2019

Alison Montgomery

Best Portrait – Man  2019

Sabrina Casas

Best Portrait – Woman (Tie) 2019

David Johnson

Best Portrait – Woman (Tie) 2019

Tara Flannery

Best Wedding 2019

Maryanne Keeling


Active Best Overall Illustrative 2019

Diana Waguespack

Active Best Overall Photographic Open 2019

Alison Montgomery


MASTER Photographer of the Year 2019

Karen Butts

ACTIVE Photographer of the Year 2019

Alison Montgomery

**********Highest CPP Scoring Image**************

Score 96 - 2019

Alison Montgomery



We had enough door prizes that nearly everyone won one. Among the highlights was a Texas School Scholarship from Don Dickson and a PPA membership for a year. Here is a list of the vendors:

Thank you to our vendors.

  • Millers
  • CG Graphics
  • Pounds Lab
  • PPA
  • TPPA
  • Texas School
  • Member offering tutoring and Fine Art Prints

Here’s to a fantastic 2020, Kathy has lined up some wonderful speakers and I look forward to seeing all of you throughout the year.

Duane Blocker


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