A year ago, Don Hogg was with us. I'm sure that each of you who knew Don well, misses his sage and wonderful company. Don was a giver, donating his time and talent wherever he perceived a need, such as the one-room schoolhouse at the State Fair Park (see August Bulletin article he wrote, and obituary in September Bulletin). He will be long remembered and mourned. I hope they have photography in heaven for him!

We got back into the N4C competitions, which I feel has rewarded us all. And, our members have taken a lion's share of the honors in those competitions! Before the year was out, N4C moved into the 21st century and started the digital competitions. Again, LCC has taken a good share of the awards.

Last February, Jim Atkins published the first Lincoln Camera Club Bulletin in color on our new website designed by John Peterson! I think that is one of the greatest accomplishments that we have made in recent years. That website, with all of our bulletins, gives prospective new members a clear picture of exactly what we do.

Another nice aspect of the color bulletins on the website is that you can pull up all of the back issues, as well (as I am doing right now in order to write this column).

Donna Gustafson came up with some great field trips for us during the year: State Capitol, Sunken Gardens, Henry Doorly Zoo, and Crete Historical site.

Through a design contest, we now have a new, more appropriate logo for the club. And, we received our official notice of incorporation from the State of Nebraska.

Virginia Miller came up with some wonderful speaker programs during the year, even though, after several years she has had to nearly exhaust her list of potentials. Finding new programs for each month is a formidable task, and Leann Lord can use all the help with ideas and contacts that you can give her.

We had some excellent special events where we had a display table and demonstrated our photographic abilities. The Lincoln Area Agency on Aging invited us to their annual festival; we helped the Lincoln Children's Zoo with their photo contest, and received an invitation to have a table there every Wednesday evening during the summer; Audubon's Spring Creek Prairie had an open house and invited us to participate with a table; and, the Lincoln Orchid Society gave us a special pre-opening shooting session and a display table. Elaine Bertrand and Leann Lord enlisted the aid of Don McKibben to build a great new table-top display for the orchid show and future opportunities that we have.

Leland Osten chaired a committee of Dennis Zabel, Dennis Gaibler, Donna Gustafson, and Glen Emswiler (hope I didn't leave anyone out) which worked diligently to set up a workshop and a seminar with Steve Traudt for next March, something that we haven't had since I have been a member. By joining in with Southeast Community College to sponsor the event, a good many people should be exposed to the camera club.

We developed new recruiting brochures in color, and through the generosity of Cartridge World, were able to get limited quantities printed in color without cost. These give prospects a good idea of what we are about, and website address and contacts if they are interested.

Glen Emswiler came up with a good summer photo contest with ten different categories and limited to 4"x6" prints. A good number of photographers participated, but it would be nice to see more in the future.

We revised the Bylaws to make the office of vice president a preparatory position for the presidency. Yvonne Nelson was appointed by the board of directors to fill this new vacant position. Yvonne has spent the time since, observing the activities of the club and taking notes to guide her next year if elected. She is also still actively seeking our non-profit designation from the IRS. Once that is accomplished, Darrell Watts has plans to embark on a grant writing program.

Throughout the year, we have developed a closer communication with our sister club in Lincoln, England, the RB Camera Club. We had a wonderful photo exchange with them, as they commemorated their club's 50th anniversary. The exchange gives us a view of the somewhat different photo styles of the British.

The Nebraska State Fair photo competition was another venue for the Lincoln Camera Club members to take many of the honors. It just goes to show that we are doing something right!

When looking back on it, I guess we have had a busy year. I hope that each of you has enjoyed at least some part of our activities during the year.

Best wishes for a most enjoyable new year!

Clark Springman