July 1, 2025

Our July meeting included both a very impressive program and several important announcements. Robert Hinton spoke to us about astrophotography and shared some spectacular photos of deep space structures he has produced. He also brought his telescope along and gave us a detailed explanation of its workings. His understanding of the subject matter was quite remarkable and his willingness to bring his equipment and share his knowledge with the club is much appreciated.

Website Award

Just prior to the meeting, Robert shared a very exciting piece of news. Our website has received second place among small clubs in the Photographic Society of America’s 2025 website contest. “Small clubs” is defined as less than 75 members, so we were actually up against clubs many times our size. Also, it is important to note that this is an international competition. Other winners were from all over the US and Canada. Major kudos to Robert Martin who envisioned and built the site from scratch less than a year ago. Next time you see him please offer your congratulations and thanks for putting us on the map.

Venue Trial

Another big announcement – we are currently looking into the possibility of changing our meeting venue to the Chamber of Commerce building. They gave us permission to meet there for our August meeting and I’ll send out a reminder with directions a bit later in the month. Thanks to the Chamber for offering us an opportunity to try out the new venue before making a commitment.

Gallery Show Theme

Yet another piece of news. You guys chose “Nature” as the topic for next year’s gallery show. I think this topic is broad enough to be of interest to nearly everyone. You have been notified – start taking those pictures for next year’s show

August Meeting

Next month’s meeting will be a little different. Robert has agreed to push his presentation back to September (it was open) so we can devote the meeting to two important decisions currently under consideration. The first concerns the possibility of moving our meeting venue. Shari Williams from the Chamber will be there to talk about the benefits of being a member of the Chamber and to answer questions. Also, as mentioned last night, the executive committee is currently considering making some major changes to our gallery show. I will present our thoughts to the club and open the floor for discussion on that topic also.

We will plan to take up our monthly challenge next month, with the topic being water. This one was first announced back in May, so there should be some good entries. This will also be a chance to try out the AV equipment in our potential new venue.

A lot going on in the club! We have some important decisions to make. Your voice matters and your presence makes the club stronger. See you soon!