BOARD ELECTIONS
There are two at-large Governing Board seats and one Executive Board seat (the Photography Chair) up for election in spring 2024. View the candidates below!
There may be one voting representative per SPOA-member company, and that representative may cast one vote per seat up for election. A link will be sent to that voting representative through which they can cast their vote.
Varsity Yearbook
John Cox has nearly 30 years of experience in the yearbook industry. A former high school yearbook editor, he spent 19 years as a territory sales representative and nine years as a sales and marketing leader. With Varsity Yearbook (formerly Herff Jones) since 2022, John is excited to collaborate with photography partners and create a super customer experience for all schools.
John Cox
"Increased adoption of standards for school photo for yearbook and directories. I would collaborate with stakeholders to expand the reach of SPOA as THE standard that all school photography and yearbook partners should adopt."
If elected, what would your goals be for your term?
Cherished Memories Photography
Mike Norkin founded Cherished Memories Photography on September 10th, 2001! From that auspicious start date, Mike has slowly and methodically built a small volume photography empire in Southern California. Classically trained by Master Photographer Monte Zucker, Mike spent several years studying directly from the master himself, and Mike credits much of his business acumen to the teachings of Monte. A business that was started to photograph weddings and portraits, Mike realized in 2005 that there were massive opportunities in the volume universe and in May of that year, officially signed his first high school contract. Fast forward 18 years, Cherished Memories now has 73 comprehensive high schools and over 18,000 annual seniors to photograph to compliment the 300+ elementary and middle schools. Covid hit the photography industry incredibly hard and the first 45 days of Covid almost completely destroyed Cherished Memories. With some help, inspiration and guidance from friends in the industry, colleagues and community members, Mike and his team were able to find a niche they could be successful in during the shutdowns of California, and they quickly went from the worst month on record to their highest grossing month. They haven’t looked back since! 6 months later, Mike acquired his first out of state business in Arizona and has since used that experience to acquire 5 additional businesses, 2 of them in the state of Nebraska. Mike currently employs 142 people in 3 states, works with almost 400 schools, 300,000+ heads annually on top of hundreds of sports teams. With all of that going on, Mike is a devoted community activist and can be seen volunteering his time with many organizations throughout the city he lives. Mike has been a Rotarian for 19 years, running youth camps and youth mentorship programs, league President of the Girls Softball league, and Chairman of the Board for the Chamber of Commerce to name a few. With all of that, Mike has a beautiful wife Mandy, 3 children, Brealyn, Tatum and Hudson, and 2 golden retrievers, Halo and Champ.
Mike Norkin
Dive in to continue to build the relationships needed inside our industry to help bring other photo companies to SPOA. I dont believe most companies understand the value and the scope of work being done by SPOA. West coast companies are under represented in SPOA, and I can help spread the word to help gain more traction in California. I would like to see some form of continuity in the way school data is handled and submitted between the school and photographer. Data issues play a massive role in our ability to be successful and I believe my experience and willingness to work with other competing entities will allow me to identify best practices and help our industry solve this issue.
If elected, what would your goals be for your term?
Dean Stewart Photography
Dean Stewart has worked in school photography since graduating as his high school’s student yearbook photographer in 1973. After working for several other school picture companies, Dean started Dean Stewart Photography in 1987. By 1988 DSP had signed two large high schools and started the company’s trek to being a leading school photography company in Central Florida. Dean Stewart and DSP have been, and continue to be, leaders in their field, being one of the first to convert to a full digital operation and likely the first in the country to offer school portraits online. Early in the digital days, Dean Stewart Photography was highlighted in The Wall Street Journal; USA Today; and the PMA Magazine for their strides in ground-breaking technology in digital photography. Dean has always embraced new ideas, techniques, and procedures in order to best serve his schools and their families while maintaining a workplace for the “DSP Family” to grow and flourish. As President and C.E.O. of DSP, Dean is eager to work with photographers and school administrators to provide the best solutions and offerings that benefit our common customer, the parents and families we serve.
Dean Stewart
I would like to see commissions and incentives get under control. Particularly incentives that have nothing to do with our craft or profession. Too many decision makers are confused with loss leader offers that mask companies' abiltities to properly serve schools and parents. I have seen many things transpire in our industry (both good and bad) and have seen many business leaders also some good and some bad. It is my desire to have our industry maintain the highest business and personal standards possible in the effort to elevate school photographers in the eyes of our customers and our staff. Without violating antitrust laws, I would like to start an open discussion on what incentives are beneficial to our customers and our businesses. Then develop industry wide guides and suggestions as to what we can and should offer. We are too often our own worst enemies when it comes to harming our industry, both financially and morally.
If elected, what would your goals be for your term?
Provine School Pictures
"Young people, and those that dedicate their lives to them, have a special place in my heart. SPOA is a tremendous platform where I could participate in shaping the future direction and policies of our photography community to better serve the interests of young people and their leaders around the country. "I spent 4 years learning the business before purchasing Provine School Pictures at the beginning of this year. I'm new this Industry, and have much to learn. But I'm very experienced in creating processes and systems that yield a great experience for those we serve."
Mark Motichek
"My primary initiative would be to join a team tasked with creating education and a set of best practices around the topic of data security. This can be a boring topic, but it's something that can help protect the integrity of our schools, and the privacy of the students and families who place their trust in us. "Data security presents an often concealed challenge for many studios within our industry. Despite our current fortune, I'm apprehensive about the vulnerability faced by numerous volume photographers. A cyber attack could cause severe damage to our reputation and result in substantial financial setbacks. Our clients (schools) and customers (parents) trust us with their privacy, yet many of us lack the capability to reciprocate that trust. I advocate for increased awareness and education concerning cyber security, along with the formation of a comprehensive set of best practices."
If elected, what would your goals be for your term?
Classic Photography
"I would like to help governing board as needed to help SPOA grow and stay relevant in the future. I feel I could use my 25 plus years of industry experience to help."
Tony Rodriguez
I would like to see us help each other navigate the tough labor and commissions side of our industry. I also would like us to come together on the future impacts of AI on our ability to sell our content. We need to have some industry standards or technology that protects our images online. I feel we need to get all of the vendors in one room and figure it out. This will benefit everyone in the industry. We cannot wait for government to catch up. I would like to help facilitate that endeavor if elected. It seems to me, most of the players will be there in July. I would like to help governing board as needed to help SPOA grow and stay relevant in the future. I feel I could use my 25 plus years of industry experience to help.
If elected, what would your goals be for your term?
GOVERNING BOARD CANDIDATES
Photography Chair - Candidates:
EXECUTIVE BOARD CANDIDATES
Strawbridge Studios
A member of SPOA's Photographic Committee! "Volume photography has been my life since I was 19. I have reached a point in my career where giving back and helping to build the next generation of photographers is important to me. This industry has provided me and my family so much, and I want to do everything in my power to ensure the next generation of volume photographers have a sustainable, profitable, healthy industry so they can continue in the tradition of school photography that we all love. "
Nic Davidson
If elected, what would your goals be for your term?
I would meet with the previous Chair, Chris Garcia, along with other board members to determine what, if any, opportunities for improvement we may have with the committee as it has existed. From there, recruit volunteers to build out/complete the education committee and create an agenda for monthly meetings with a roadmap encompassing our goals for the next 24 months. I do believe we have an opportunity through membership to advocate for copyright protection of images for software and yearbook publications by bringing all parties to the table for solutions. I know this has been discussed, and we have made strides in relation to yearbook deadlines, but there is still room to create healthy practices for all vested parties.
Cherished Memories Photography
"Photography has been a passion of mine since I was a little kid. As I matured through school, photography classes in high school helped solidify my passion and love for the art of photography. At 18, I was hired as a school photographer for a company in Los Angeles, and at 21 years of age, I started my own company, where we have grown from 1 school to almost 500 schools. I have also dedicated my career to teaching and mentoring photographers from all over the country, helping companies on both coasts and in the heartland develop their workflows, hiring processes, online sales techniques etc. I also believe my reputation of helping studios and individual photographers helped me receive the Lynx Legacy award, being the youngest photographer in the awards history to have this honor bestowed on me."
Mike Norkin
If elected, what would your goals be for your term?
"Dive in to continue to build the relationships needed inside our industry to help bring other photo companies to SPOA. I dont believe most companies understand the value and the scope of work being done by SPOA. West coast companies are under represented in SPOA, and I can help spread the word to help gain more traction in California. "I would like to see some form of continuity in the way school data is handled and submitted between the school and photographer. Data issues play a massive role in our ability to be successful and I believe my experience and willingness to work with other competing entities will allow me to identify best practices and help our industry solve this issue."
Geskus Photography
A frequent member of the judging panel on SPOA's photo contests! "I am applying for the Photography Chair on the Executive Board because I have over twenty years of hands-on experience working within the visual arts industry and being project oriented with knowledge and education in photography, layout, print applications, photo manipulation and graphic design. I will bring a blend of creative, strategic and management talents of significant value to your organization. I have also participated on the judges’ panel for the SPOA photographic competition. "In conclusion, my background and work experience will make me a good fit for this role, however it is my enthusiasm, and desire to be part of a collaborative and creative team united in the SPOA mission to educate, advocate, promote, protect and preserve the great traditions of school photography and yearbooks that makes me the best candidate."
Lisa Kniola
If elected, what would your goals be for your term?
"If elected, I will be an advocate for schools to open access to their data. As industry members we could access data automatically and import images in the software systems for them, since many schools struggle with those basics. "My primary initiative in the first 100 days will be to contribute to the up-coming conference as needed, as well as make sure details of the photography competition are clear, communicated, and carried out to the fullest extent."