BAPC Annual Awards Night

Tuesday January 26, 2010 we held our Annual Awards Night dinner at the Clear Lake County Building near the park.  We had 33 members and guests to attend.  If you missed it this year please make plans to attend next year.

We had all manner of appetizers, great dishes, salads and desserts.  The barbecue from Pappas Barbecue fell apart when you tried to fork it onto the plate and it was very moist and tasty.  The chicken had been cut into individual pieces, so we didn't have to act like Vikings at the tables.  The side dishes were wonderful with several of my favorites being Maureen Cerkan's cornbread pudding (not really a pudding), Alora Anderson's green beans with onion strings, Laura Armer's broccoli and rice casserole and JD Patrick's baked beans.  I know that everyone enjoyed it all and each had their own favorites of the night.  The hardest part was trying to decide what to eat with all the great choices and only having so much room to put them.  Everyone was able to relax, meet someone new and enjoy talking about everyday things for a change. 

After all attending had a full belly they were ready for long winded speeches and announcements of new officers and committee members for 2010.  BAPC President Kyle Rhorer gave them a break and kept it short and sweet.  He went over our club accomplishments for 2009 and a few things we are looking forward to in 2010.  The long awaited announcement for Photographer of the Year was next.  No small surprise after all the hard work he put in last year that Barry Armer is our Photographer of the Year for 2009!  Please congratulate Barry on his well deserved recognition.  Thanks also to Larry Patrick for taking care of getting the beautifully etched plaque presented to Barry.  It's definitely something worth having on your mantle or place of honor.

I would also like to take a moment to thank Kyle for his dedication and hard work given to the club for the last 3 years as our President.  We have grown considerably in membership during his tenure, the largest number in memory and history of the club.  He's not leaving us, but merely accepting another assignment withing the club as Secretary.  So he continues to serve the club in another role.  If you get a minute please let him know how much you appreciated his efforts on the club's behalf.

You can go to the Club Info page to find the list of the new officers and committee chairs/directors.  A few notables for 2010 are our Freeman Library Exhibit presented through TAACCL and noted landscape and nature photographer Andy Biggs speaking to us on June 22, 2010.  We will be providing more information on those items of interest as time dictates.

I've been told I tend to write fairly long stories and blog postings, so those who only read the first paragraph or two of my musings will not know I am the new President of the Bay Area Photo Club.  I guess they will find out later.  Bob Dempsey is our new Vice President after serving as our wonderful Field Trip Coordinator for the last year.  Larry Patrick has agreed to continue his term as Treasurer of the club. As noted earlier Kyle Rhorer has accepted the role of Secretary for the next term.

Finally, I want to thank all exiting officers and committee members for their help and hard work over the last year.  We could not have done it without them.

I am excited to have these fellow officers to work with and look forward to the opportunity to lead the club.  I look forward to a new year with the new committee members and will continue to push for new and interesting things to bring to the membership. 

Regards,

Doug Haass

BAPC President