2021 SPAC Agenda Book web

W E L C OM E T O S P A C 2 0 2 1

Who would have thought a year ago that we would be having our first online SPAC conference? Last year, SPAC put on its largest show ever. We had the highest number of attendees, vendors and speakers. We left inspired and full of ideas. Then, as the world went into full lockdown 2 months later, the photography landscape sure changed. Schools and Leagues were closed and we were all faced with difficult decisions. Leave it up to us to be able to get ourselves through it! We are photographers, labs, programmers, manufacturers and business owners - we have all practised pivoting. Have you ever shown up to a photography shoot and had to make an on the fly decision so you could photograph? How about when you get a job back from the field and it didn’t turn out how you expected, so you had to figure out a way to still print? Ever had to make difficult decisions to expand your business? You see, we have been doing this all the time and we see and share those accomplishments and ideas at SPAC. We changed the focus of SPAC chats to share and update ideas. We had weekly communication that carried on and shared those ideas. We had attendees that started outdoor shoots, drive-thru and even remote photography. We had vendors that invented graduation yard signs and new email campaigns to mine existing images for additional sales. We assisted leagues and schools with apps and signage printing to further reinforce our existing relationships. Even though we were all over the country and world, we shared the same obstacles and came up with solutions. I’m glad that we made the decision early to pivot and take SPAC virtual. This gave us enough time to plan and implement. We took all the ideas that worked in person and transformed them online. We also used the ability to be online and behind a computer to enhance the conference experience. We learned a new platform and after 8 months of preparation, here we go! Thank you to the vendors that all said: “whatever platform you guys choose--sign us up.”We know that there has been a lot of work and preparation setting up a virtual booth and we appreciate all of the efforts. Thank you to the speakers: you all volunteered to present virtually without knowing what the platform or audience was going to look like. Instead of just preparing a PowerPoint slide, this year all speaker recordings had to be done in advance. I’ve seen a lot of great presentations. Thank you to all attendees: your encouragement and support leading up to the conference is greatly appreciated and reinforces why we do what we do. Finally, thank you to the board and Coree. What a monumental year putting this together and learning what a virtual conference is all about. Your time and effort organizing SPAC, on top of making sure all of our own businesses succeed, is appreciated by all. We work well together and I enjoy being part of a great team.

I virtually welcome you to SPAC 2021, our first online-only conference. Have a great next 4 days and I hope to see you all in person next year!

SPAC President Michael Rak The Artona Group

S P A C B O A R D M E M B E R S

Wayne Barksdale Barksdale School Portraits

Coree Cooper The "SPAC Gal"

Calvin Harrell, Jr. My Legacy Matters

Beth Jones Best Eye Photography

Marty Brown Excel Photographers

W W W . S P A C - U S A . O R G