The SSCC board met on November 29, 2018.  Twelve board members attended.

For a complete list of the officers and committee members that comprise the Board, see the following: 2018-2019 Officers and Committee Chairs

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Michael Koren updated us on the Maryland Photography Alliance (MPA) training to become a judge, SSCC representation at MPA, Social media, and Meet-Ups.  The MPA judges training course, taught by Roy Sewell, will be limited to one person per club in order to get a better spread throughout the clubs.  Pete Morton of SSCC will be in the next training session this coming spring. Michael Koren is presently the SSCC representative at MPA, and Stephanie Banks is his back-up.  Both welcome applicants to take over their positions.  We are able to teleconference into the third Thursday meetings.

The new Social Media group, Mark Paster, Catherine Honigsberg and Pete Morton, is searching for more members. Next Social Media group meeting will take place on December 13, right before the ordinary SSCC meeting. The SSCC Meet-Ups have the potential to attract more members and are an outreach for the club.

Michael Koren reminded us about the importance to reply “YES” on the Meet-Ups and also to provide comments.

Pete Morton informed us about the results of the SSCC survey and it was followed by a discussion.  Forty members responded, a majority of which (62%) had been members for up to 5 years and classified themselves as intermediate or advanced photographers. The most popular events are the Speaker and Competition Nights, with A Closer Focus as an up comer, and the Field Trips as the most occasionally attended event.  One-on-One, small group mentoring and break-out learning groups are wished for in future club meetings, as well as advanced camera techniques, photo critiques and post-editing workflows. It was proposed that a meeting, email blast, or Cable Release article be issued to release and discuss more broadly the survey results and how to use them.

Larry Gold informed about the Gordon Parks exhibition at the National Gallery of Art. On view in the West Building up to February 18, 2019, the traveling exhibition provides a detailed look at Parks’ early evolution through some 150 photographs, as well as rare magazines, newspapers, pamphlets, and books.

Committee Chair Reports:

Treasurer: Bruce Schaefer presented the SSCC updated budget per November 29. We have a projected profit of $240 by year’s end with incomes of $4,370 and expenses of $4,130. We have 78 members, 14 of which are new. This is below our goal of 95 members. We had 78 members also at this time last year.

Programming:  All is up and running. Renee Schaefer has contracted all judges and speakers for the upcoming meetings. Renee updated us on the December Speaker, Mr. Frank Van Riper who apart from being an acclaimed photographer and photography columnist of the Washington Post, also had a long career as White House correspondent. He will offer to sell his new book Recovered Memory: New York and Paris 1960-1980 (Daylight Books, October 2018) at the December 6 meeting. The book is $40 and you will need to bring cash or a check if you want to buy it.

Renee will contact Dave Powell about a portfolio review night.

Field Trips: No report

Cable Release: Dennis Freeman published the December Cable Release today. Dennis has decided that he does not require additional help at this time.

 Website: Mark Paster reported that he added the link policy to our website. No one has added any comments at this time.

 Nominations: Nothing to report.

Competition: Nothing to report

 Membership: Catherine Honigsberg read a report from the Membership Chair stating that the SSCC has 17 new members and 61 renewing members. Of these about 40 people attend two meetings a month. Mark Auerbach has contacted guests and Andrew Rein contacted Meet-Up attendees. The member Chair will make an announcement to remind people that they need to sign in when attending meetings.

Former members that have not paid dues this year will be contacted by Lisa.

The Winter Social will take place at 6:30 p.m. on December 6, preceding our Speaker Night. Everybody is welcome and encouraged to bring with them snacks or drinks to share.

Honor Fund: David Blass opened an informative discussion about the Honor Fund. About $750 is currently available and the Fund should benefit from more applicants. The yearly schedule with the current deadline, November 15, could be revised as it might be better with a timelier deadline or a rolling award. New ideas as to target groups and subjects are welcome. The existing committee of 5 members will present a report on the Fund. David Blass will volunteer for one more year but wishes to be replaced. When a new person takes on to manage the Fund, David Blass will help to get her/him started.

PSA: See top of this report.

Social Media: See top of this report.

Other:

Maryland Photography Alliance: Michael Koren reported on the MPA Photo Contest. .

Communication Standards for the Club: No report