December 28 Joy to the World Websummit to Benefit Operation Smile!

generic Sarah Petty is joining with PPA Charities to raise funds for its charitable partner Operation Smile at her December 28 Joy of Marketing Websummit! The webcast will feature 14 hours of FREE education from 28 of the industry’s top photographers, during which you can join together with fellow photographers from coast to coast to donate (even a dollar) to give the gift of cleft lip or cleft palate surgery to deserving children.

Over 10,000 professional photographers registered for Sarah’s Master Photographers Free Marketing Telesummit in September. Sarah expects an even bigger audience for this great marketing event, which will help you jump start your business for 2010, so she’s set a goal to save the smiles of 100 children ($24,000) through Operation Smile! It takes only $240 for Operation Smile’s volunteer medical professionals to change the life of a child forever. What better way for photographers to give back to children in need!

What’s more, The Joy of Marketing will match
Websummit donations up to $5,000!

So get off to a strong start in the New Year and help some deserving children while you do! You’ll learn from David Jay, Sam Puc, Julia Woods, Jerry Ghionis, Scott Crosby, Will Crockett and more! The Joy to the World Websummit promises to provide you with serious money-making ideas for your business.
All you need is a computer with an Internet connection to join in on December 28 (and the latest version of Adobe Flash – it’s free, too). The Websummit will be available for 24 hours beginning at 12:01 CST on December 28. Listen to only those speakers you like best or watch all 28. You can start, stop and pause each speakers’ presentation to learn at your leisure within the 24 hour window. Simply REGISTER NOW for FREE by clicking here!

If you’re not available on December 28, 2009 or want to get a head start on 2010 planning for your business, you can purchase the Adobe FLASH files of all 14 hours for $89 and receive access to the speaker presentations IMMEDIATELY. A pre-websummit special price of $59 is available until December 27. Just register before December 28, 2009, and you’ll receive this special offer! To learn more about Sarah Petty’s Joy of Marketing Websummit, click here.

Huge thanks to Sarah for her generosity in partnering with
PPA Charities in support of Operation Smile!

Don’t Miss IUSA All-Star Marketing Class!

PPA Charities announces the first ever full-day Charitable Marketing pre-conference class at PPA’s ImagingUSA national convention. An all-star line-up will share their best ideas on how to incorporate charitable marketing into your studio strategy. The class, which is scheduled from 9-5 on Saturday, January 9, 2010, will take place at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel.

Class moderator will be Mary Fisk-Taylor, PPA Charities president and nationally known speaker. Confirmed speakers to date are Jed & Vicki Taufer, Lori Nordstrom, Jeff & Julia Woods, Sarah Petty, Lori Craft and Tim & Beverly Walden. In addition, Ann Monteith and Angie Weedon, the administrators of Family Portrait Month and Operation Smile Studio programs, will present information on the 2010 programs and activities, as well as a host of ideas for raising funds for Operation Smile, PPACH’s charitable partner.

The class will include special guest speaker Margaret Moore, from Dublin, Ireland. Margaret will explain how the Irish Professional Photographers Association has used charitable marketing to elevate the profile of both the Association and its members through its annual Happy Faces Day promotion, which last year alone raised over $90,000 for its charitable partner. Recently Margaret was named as one of Ireland’s Top 100 Business Women by Irish Entrepreneur magazine. She and her husband, Barry, own and operate Photogenic, an upscale portrait/wedding business in Dalkey.

Finally, you will see and hear from Bert Behnke and Graham Wilson, who in the last quarter of 2009 documented heart-touching Operation Smile missions in Bolivia and Vietnam. In their own words and pictures you’ll understand just how powerful a tool charitable marketing can be, and how lives have been transformed because of professional photographers working on their behalf through Operation Smile.

This class will be offered for only $129! All speakers have agreed to donate their services for this amazing class to raise funds for PPA Charities, which will allow us to continue our support of Operation Smile and to provide opportunities for PPA members to do likewise.

For signup information click here.

PPACH Sets $70k Goal for 2009 Operation Smile Donation

In each of the four years since PPA Charities named Operation Smile to be it’s charitable partner, PPA members have increased their donations to the charity. This year, the PPACH trustees have set the ambitious goal of $70,000 to be raised through Family Portrait Month and other activities in direct support of Operation Smile. This goal represents a $20,000 increase over the 2008 donation of $50,000, but more importantly, it will make possible nearly 300 smiles repaired by the volunteer professionals of Operation Smile. Together PPA member trulys can make these miracles happen . . . one smile at a time. To learn how you can participate, click here.

PPA Charities Donations Pass $150,000 Mark

Last October, nearly 350 members of Professional Photographers of America (PPA) in 41 states and the District of Columbia participated in PPA Charities’ Family Portrait Month, a, national fundraising effort to benefit Operation Smile, making possible a donation of $50,635 to the charitable partner of PPA Charities. This donation raises the amount that PPA Charities has contributed to children’s charities to more than $150,000.

On January 10, during PPA’s Imaging USA convention in Phoenix, Arizona, PPA Charities presented the 2008 donation to Operation Smile at Alice Cooperstown. The check was received by Beth Marshall, Operation Smile Senior Executive Advisor for Latin America and Caribbean, and Carmit Bachar, Operation Smile Celebrity Smile Ambassador. Bachar, an American singer and dancer, is best known as a member of the pop group, The Pussycat Dolls. Ms. Bachar, who was born with a cleft lip and cleft palate, participated on an Operation Smile medical mission to Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

PPA Charities’ over $50,000 donation occurred during a time when many were toning down their charitable donations. In fact, during a four-year partnership, PPA Charities has raised more than $150,000 for Operation Smile…translating into helping hundreds of children and young adults.

PPA photographer Graham Wilson of Colorado was the largest donor to Operation Smile through the 2008 Family Portrait Month campaign, raising $10,000. By generating the largest donation during Family Portrait Month, Wilson won the chance to photograph an upcoming Operation Smile international medical mission.

Operation Smile has posted an item about PPA Charities’ efforts on their website; you can read it by clicking here.

Join in the Fun at Imaging USA!

So if you’re still not sure if you wanted to attend the Celebration Event on Saturday, January 10th in Phoenix, here are a few reasons to consider.

Alice CoopersTown – If you haven’t been there or tried the food, it’s a real treat. It’s where rock & roll meets sports, the best of both worlds. This great venue is only a few blocks from the Phoenix Convention Center, so it’s a short walk to the venue.
VIP tickets are only $35 and in limited supply, you’ll get FREE hors d’ouevres, FREE open bar, first chance at entry and guaranteed to not be shut out if we reach capacity. You will also be eligible for pre-event drawings and auctions and first peek at all of our auction items. This one hour reception (8-9pm) is a must for all of those who want to see and be seen as the patrons for PPA Charities. Plus you get a cool collectors button!
Watch as PPA Charities presents our annual donation to Operation Smile. Last year’s check for $52,000 from Family Portrait Month changed the lives of over 200 children by providing the funds needed for life-changing surgery on cleft palates and other facial deformities by the volunteers from Operation Smile.
Meet Carmit Bachar, celebrity spokesperson for Operation Smile. This former PussyCat Doll, shares her story on how she was affected directly by Operation Smile.
Be there as we recognize PPA Charities biggest supporters and find out who wins the mission trip with Operation Smile in 2009, as well as recognition of other VIPs.
A fun way to show your support is to have your eyes done up in Alice Cooper’s famous style. The Delta Zeta sorority from ASU is sending volunteers to give you Alice-Eyes for a small donation.
Music? Well of course there’s music! Rock out all during the evening, but get ready for a real experience when Sixty Degrees North takes the stage. For the first time, PPA Charities brings the fun with dancing and partying, kind of a big blow out to celebrate all of those who supported us in 2008 and bring in 2009.
We’ll also hear from our friends at Twin Cities PPA and the Texas School and see how they each have challenged the other PPA Affiliates to support PPA Charities.
Be the first to see our new hoodies and long-sleeved t-shirts. We’re sure they’ll sell out, but those who come to the Celebration Event will have first dibs!
Did I mention the Auctions? As of December 12th we have tons of items ready for your bidding with more coming every day.

Here’s a list of what we have so far:

The PPA Affiliates School are big supporters; we already have Scholarships from New England Institute of PP (NEIPP), Texas School, MAIPP, Image Explorations, West Coast School, the Oklahoma School, Triangle Institute of PP, East Coast School, Illinois Workshops and the Lamarr Williamson School.
PPA Exhibitors who have stepped forward are many; SuccessWare is a sponsor of the Event and contributor as well as Gina Alexander,
Tamrac, Image Tech Marketing, Expo Imaging Inc., DIGINEG Ltd., M-Rock Camera Bags, Group Photographers Assn., Corel Corporation, Backgrounds by Maheu, Richmond Professional Lab, Dahle North America, MyBWLab.com, Rice Studio Supply, WhiteHouse Custom Colour and Think Tank Photo.
PPA has donated a full year membership and IUSA 2010 Registration and also VIP reserved seats to the Anne Geddes program. IUSA
Speakers and PPA photographers donating items include Anne Geddes, Jeremy Sutton, Bert & Cindy Behnke, Ron Nichols and Hanson Fong.
Local donors include the Phoenix Coyotes Hockey Club, Rockin’ R Ranch, Sheraton Phoenix Hotel, First Watch Restaurant, Phoenix Art Museum, Out of Africa Wildlife Park, Phoenix Zoo, the Phoenix Suns Basketball Team and McCormick & Schmicks.
And we have items from Robin Williams and John Travolta, too.

So is that enough reason to show up? But remember, only those with VIP tickets will be guaranteed admittance. After 9:00 p.m. everybody is welcome, but space is limited and only what Alice Cooperstown can hold will be accommodated, so call PPA or contact PPA Charities by calling 708-267-0657 or bbehnke@ppa.com.

We hope to see you in Phoenix.