Hi everyone,

Paul is full of energy
and gives his all to
the Group

I want to start by sharing some exciting news. The Group now has a 'Deputy Organizer'. I asked Paul Martin and he has accepted to serve as 'Deputy Organizer' and as a manager of the Event Hosts. Paul has been a member of the Group longer than I have (5.5 yrs). He has served as a Co-Organizer for the last 3, going on 4, years and hosted scores of FREE MeetUps. He is also co-signed on our Group checking account.

So if you are interested in becoming an Event Host please email Paul and introduce yourself. You can teach just 1 class a year or teach as often as you would like. IF you want to offer a paid class or two to the Group you can, but you must be willing to teach a FREE classes to the Group.

We have also recruited an Intern. I have recruited Arnett Luce to serve the Group and help me with the chores of running the Group. She will take on managing the Annual 'Community' Photo Contest and will be the lead volunteer in our outreach to the Boy Scouts of Colorado.

Arnett is a budding
talent and also
full of energy.

About the Boy Scouts. The Group is going to start teaching photography to the Boy Scouts of the Pikes Peak Councel (and the Girl Scouts in the future) who will be eager to earn a Photography Merit Badge. Arnett is also fundraising to support a Pikes Peak Boy Scout Photographer of the Year and Boy Scout Photo Contest. So, if your a parent or supporter of Scouting I would encourage you to contact her and offer her your support. This is a TREMENDOUS opportunity for our Group. We are thinking that we will grow this program to be State-Wide.

Where oh where have the members gone? I know, I did a little house cleaning this week. I removed a hundred members from the Group for being inactive for more than 9 months-- but I emailed them to tell them why, and why they were always welcomed back. Here is what I said, "Hi, it looks like you have been inactive for more than 9 months. I hope that sometime in the future you will rejoin and become active again. You are always welcome to rejoin. Best, Charlie" Of all the people that I emailed not one wrote me back and asked to be reinstated.

You should see a big dip as I removed about 100 inactive
members of the Group. Our intent is to try and continue to
offer the 5 star classes that we do and to reach and grow
our community. But we need more volunteer Event Leaders
if we are going to reach more people.

Why the cut back? Well... we have always been focused on quality over quantity. Plus the 'number' of members in the Group is a little deceptive. You can have 953 members, but if the majority of them have not been 'active' for more than a year- are they really a 'member?'

Another reason to downsize is because we are community minded. We can serve an active Group of 200-300 members better than we can serve 953. With the volunteers that we have we did more than 130 MeetUps in 2013. Nobody else has that kind of activity. I talked about this at our Annual Meeting in January. I choose to look at the fact that we have doubled the number of active members in the last 4 years and that we have grown our FB page to over 1,060 members in the last 24 months. So 'yes' we are growing and we want you to share us with all your friends, but we don't ever want to rest on our laurels or stop growing physically or philosophically.

News

What Happens When A Photographer Takes The Same Photo From A Different Angle

Here's what a snail looks like captured in a long exposure photo.

Beautiful Women!

A Photograph Sparked Mothers To Show Us What Their Post-Baby Bodies Really Look Like

Time-Lapse Footage of a Supercell Thunderstorm

What If Famous Paintings Were Photoshopped to Look Like Fashion Models?

'What I Be' Project Reveals People's Darkest Insecurities In Stunning Photos

The Age of iPhone Reporting: Q&A with Neal Augenstein

Water shot! Photographer captures the precise moment a speeding bullet pierces a tiny droplet of falling liquid

Rants&Raves: This is not so much a 'rant' or 'rave' it is more of a simple ask for your help. The more that the Group grows the more need it has for volunteers. Volunteers make any Group successful. If you believe in 'paying it forward,' if you look at all the newcomers to photography who have never had a single photo class or if photography is a real passion-- then we want you involved in our Group. Please contact Paul M about how you can make a difference.