Stepping Into Service: Leading PPETN in 2026

Stepping into the Chairman role for the Professional Photographers of East Tennessee (PPETN) in 2026 isn't really a look at me, I have a title moment.

It's much more: Okay. What needs to be done, and how do we do it well?

Because leadership in a photography organization isn't particularly glamorous. There are meetings, emails, follow-ups, budgets, schedules, speakers, volunteers, and approximately 972 tiny details nobody notices unless one of them goes wrong.

But there's also an opportunity to build something that matters.

And that's the part I'm excited about.

Photography Doesn't Have to Be a Lonely Business

One of the things I believe strongly is that photography can be a lonely business, but it doesn't have to be.

Professional organizations give us something we can't get from watching another YouTube video: relationships with other photographers.

PPETN brings together photographers with completely different experiences, specialties, businesses, and skill levels. Someone who has been photographing professionally for 30 years can learn something from someone who started three years ago, and vice versa.

But that only works if people are willing to share what they know.

You can't grow an industry if everybody is hoarding information like it's a competitive sport.

I want PPETN to be a place where photographers ask questions, share experiences, try things, occasionally fail spectacularly, learn from it, and come back ready to try again.

Leadership Isn't a Solo Sport

Being Chairman doesn't mean sitting on a throne and announcing what everyone else will be doing.

Thank goodness, because I don't have room for a throne.

Everything PPETN accomplishes this year will happen because we have a board willing to work together and members willing to participate.

Good leadership means listening, asking questions, making decisions, following through, and remembering that the organization exists to serve its members, not the people whose names happen to be on the letterhead.

Ideas are easy. Execution requires people who actually show up.

Building Education That Helps Photographers Grow

Education will continue to be a major focus for PPETN in 2026, and I want that education to address both sides of being a professional photographer.

We need opportunities to become better photographers. Lighting, posing, composition, storytelling, technique, image competition and all the things that help us improve our craft matter.

But so does the business.

Because if your photography is brilliant but your business model is held together with duct tape and hope, we've got a problem.

Photographers also need education around pricing, marketing, client experience, systems, sustainability, and all the less glamorous things that allow us to keep doing the creative work we love.

I also want photographers who are interested in professional credentials, certification, degrees, and image competition to have people around them who can help them understand those paths.

Nobody should have to figure the entire photography industry out by themselves.

The Bigger Picture

My involvement with PPETN has also reinforced something I've come to believe about professional photography organizations: local, state, and national organizations don't have to compete with one another.

They serve different purposes.

Being involved nationally doesn't mean you've outgrown your state organization. Being involved with your state doesn't mean there isn't tremendous value in a local photography community.

There's room for all three.

And when those organizations communicate, collaborate, and help photographers understand what each one offers, the entire photography community benefits.

That's something I want to keep working toward, both during my time with PPETN and beyond.

What I Want 2026 to Look Like

I don't want us doing more simply so we can say we did more.

I want us doing things that matter and doing them well.

That means strong education. Better relationships. Opportunities for photographers at different stages of their careers. A board that works together. Members who feel comfortable getting involved. And an organization that's willing to change when something isn't working.

There's plenty we can build from there.

But first?

Fix the foundation. Then go be fancy.