Transition Time Again – Beth Huning, Immediate Past President
Time passes quickly when you are having fun, as the saying goes. After two years as NANPA President, my term has ended, and I am now reflecting and evaluating what we hoped we would achieve when I assumed office and taking stock of things that I hoped to accomplish. Some big goals were achieved, and others are well in the works that you will see rolled out by your new President and Vice President, Coby Cooper and Hank Erdman, to consider in future planning.
First, I would like to thank the NANPA Board for electing Coby and for his willingness to step into the role of President. Coby is a thoughtful and visionary leader. But I can say that about Hank, your new Vice President, and all of the NANPA Board members with whom I’ve had the privilege of serving. I want to thank each of them for their service and for their ideas and knowledge that they bring to the table each time we meet as well as their work between meetings.
I particularly want to thank JP Lawrence whose term expired at the end of June. JP always offered a balanced and thoughtful perspective on discussions and decisions. I expect we will all continue to see JP in other capacities with NANPA, such as with the College Program he has helped mentor. The other expiring Board position was that of Amanda Meyers, who was overwhelmingly re-elected by vote of the membership. We will all benefit from Amanda’s experience and continuity on the Board. I also want to welcome Paul Brooks, your other new Board member. Paul has been the chair of the Awards Committee. One of my goals has been closer integration with our standing committees, and Paul’s election will help facilitate that communication. Although my term has ended, I will remain on the Board for another year.
So, taking stock and looking at where NANPA is now from where we were two years ago, a lot has happened in that time to re-shape our organization and position it to serve our membership into the future. Although not glitzy, my goals for NANPA were to build a strong and active Board with a diversity of talents that can lead NANPA into the future as we emerged from the pandemic. It was my goal that the Board make smart choices that would position us to implement our strategic plan, prioritize and develop new programs and services that continued to be requested in our annual membership surveys, and to take the action needed to restructure our staffing and operations to meet our goals.
With staff vacancies, reliance on independent contractors and lacking financial resources to fill vacancies, we were creatively finding ways to serve our members on a limited budget. But this operational model was not sustainable long-term. Just as camera equipment, software, and techniques change over time, organizations need to be willing to change and evolve to remain relevant and to survive. And so, after lengthy analysis and discussions, the Board chose the most exciting option to once again grow NANPA and our programs. For almost 2 years we have been partnering with ASMP to share staff, operations, and resources while maintaining NANPA’s core programs and identify. Yes, it’s a different operational structure from when NANPA was originally founded over 30 years ago, but times change, and many organizations and business are restructuring to not only survive but to thrive.
Now with a combined membership of over 6400, both organizations share their programs and staff with each other rather than duplicate services. We are very fortunate to have Jim Datri as our joint Executive Director and Tom Maddrey as Chief Legal Officer and Head of National Content and Education. We restructured former NANPA Executive Director Susan Day’s contract to become NANPA Program Coordinator. We gained access to joint marketing and IT staff shared by both organizations while still maintaining the NANPA office and identity. Speaking for myself, I have been invigorated working with all the staff who care so much about success for both organizations.
So programmatically, what are some of our mutual benefits that you should be availing yourselves if you haven’t already?
- All the same NANPA programs you enjoyed before such as the Summit, Showcase, webinars, Regional Events, handbooks, advocacy, and the college program. Check out www.NANPA.org.
- The ASMP Academy by Sony, everything you want and need to know about operating your photographic business with forms and legal document templates. This is similar to what NANPA Pro members had been requesting for years, but NANPA did not have the resources to build, User statistics are showing that NANPA members are now using the Academy almost as much as are ASMP members.
- The Weekly Legal and Business Clinic where you receive consultation on legal concerns affection you as a photographer. Again, NANPA participants are almost equal to and sometimes exceed the number of ASMP participants in the weekly forum.
- Additional Contest Opportunities beyond Showcase. Many of the entries in ASMP’s “Best of” were from NANPA members. I entered. Did you?
- Town Hall forums where members of both organizations can come together, learn, and ask questions about the topic to be discussed. AI seems to be the hot topic, so an entire town hall was dedicated to answering your questions about AI. Stay tuned for other topics of interest.
- Local Chapters. ASMP has a local chapter network and NANPA members are now engaging in local programs. For example, more than 69 members participated in a photo walk about and shoot in Seattle. If you are interested in getting involved with NANPA locally, participate in a local ASMP/NANPA chapter and promote activities of interest to NANPA members.
- Expanded Advocacy for Photographers. ASMP has an ongoing presence with staff in Washington DC who are advocating for photographers’ rights, access on public lands and copyright issues. NANPA was doing a lot with a little on these issues, but now we have a stronger voice as partners.
- The NANPA Store is back! Do you have your NANPA pullover, mug, or mouse pad? You can show off your affiliation and support NANPA by making purchase from the NANPA store here.
What existing NANPA programs have grown and expanded in the past two years? Since we are back in the field after COVID, we are again growing in person programs yet want to retain some of what we learned by conducing virtual programs.
- Regional Events – We have more regional event offerings with more participants than ever before. We are exploring some exciting changes and additions to the program. But I won’t jump the gun and will let Coby and staff make those announcements when the time is right.
- Showcase 2024 – Start processing those winning images. Showcase 2024 is ready to launch in a few days! There are some exciting new changes here, too. But that’s also tor Coby and Tom to announce.
- Summit 2025 – Planning is well underway. If you enjoyed all the on-site photographic opportunities at the Summit lor missed attending last year, you are in luck. We will be back in Tucson again. If you are interested in presenting at the Summit, check your e-mail and submit your proposal ASAP.
- The NANPA Foundation – The Foundation has an active Board with more success than ever raising funds for such important programs as the College Program, photo blinds, and the Philip Hyde Grant which funds a conservation photography project with high impact potential. Last year the NANPA Foundation funded the appraisal and transfer of NANPA’s Nature Photographer of the Year image collection to its new permanent home at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute (RTPI). We are excited about the educational opportunities for our collection at RTPI. Your gifts to the NANPA Foundation have made these programs successful. So thank you!
- Ethics Handbook – Yes, it’s really happening! After several years in research and writing, NANPA will have an ethics handbook that promises to be the go-to resource for ethical field practices. I was hoping that before my term expired we would be able to announce and launch sections of the most comprehensive recommendations for ethical field practices for photographers, but it’s still n final editing. So I guess this is a sneak announcement. Sean Fitzgerald has done an amazing job. Let’s just say it’s really, really, good. We have big plans for the launch and for new programs over the next couple of years that will put NANPA on the map as the leader in ethical field practices. Now it’s up to Coby, Sean, the Ethics Committee, and the staff to put on the final touches and get everything launched.
And with that sneak preview, I enthusiastically pass the gavel to Coby Cooper, your new NANPA President.
