Welcome to PPOC

Welcome to 2020

Hello to all members of PPOC in this new year!

I am honored to be your new president and excited to work with such a great and talented board and members. Can you believe it’s 2020?  The entire board of directors are excited to start a new decade with you. Together we have put much thought into what lies ahead of PPOC and I, as your new president would like to share some of them with you.

First, I would like to thank Duane for his dedication and hard work in his role as president for PPOC this past year. No matter what he encountered he always did it with a positive attitude and determination. Because of that determination PPOC was able to provide great workshops that included Mathew Jordon Smith and the affiliate workshop with Bryan Welsh. Duane’s focus also helped to put PPOC on a track on growing our membership.

I’d like to share my vision for PPOC going forward. The top focus will be in the areas of education and networking. In 2020 we partnered with California Center for Digital Arts (CCDA) to collaborate on initiatives, increase networking, enhance opportunities for growth as professional photographers, and to provide additional education and resources for both organizations and its members. This partnership will only continue to develop and will provide our members with discounts to print on fine art papers, studio rentals, image critiques in our open forum to build our skills as photographers, and so much more. For a complete list of what CCDA has to offer we encourage you to explore their website.

PPOC and CCDA are working diligently on providing our members with high-level educational workshops. Just in February alone we have the honor to offer workshops with Michael Collins and Bry Cox that you don’t want to miss. Then in March, be sure to come spend time with Eric Joseph to learn that there is so much more to printing. We also excited to have Troy Miller and George DeLoache presenting workshops later this year. These great speakers have fantastic information to share, so be sure to register soon.

Your voice is important, so I encourage you to provide us with your ideas on what you would like to see in workshops, meetings, photo safaris, gatherings and anything else you feel will bring value to our members.

We are also committed to improving our website and increasing our social media presents this year. Your support and involvement in this are important to our success. Let us know what you would like to see on the website, invite other photographers and friends to upcoming events, share your images on our social media platform, hashtag PPOC, and enter the print competitions. We also have opportunities where you can share your skills and expertise as a board member or volunteer.

I welcome the opportunity to get to know you better and encourage you join me and other fellow members before our meetings at “The Den Café” restaurant.

I’m looking forward to what lies ahead in 2020 and being a part of such a great organization full of talented and creative photographers. Here’s to spending time with old friends, making new ones, sharing expertise, networking, and growing as an organization and as photographers.

Your 2020 president,

John Aranas