SPOA announces International Conference on School Photography & Yearbooks

The School Photographers of America (SPOA) announced the inaugural International Conference on School Photography & Yearbooks, will be held June 9-11, 2022, at the Westin Galleria, Houston, Texas. This conference and trade show will bring together all segments of the school portrait and yearbook industries in the broadest education and networking opportunity in the volume photography industry.

"First and foremost, this conference will be dedicated to the leadership and development of business owners and their leadership staff," says David Crandall, executive director, SPOA. Since the launch of SPOA in 2020, the association has held numerous classes and online events to educate and to bring together various industry groups. Now is the time to bring the entire school portrait and yearbook industries together.

Crandall explains one of the most appealing aspects of the conference will be involved with key school photography constituencies, including the U.S. government officials, leading educators, and a panel of school principals and superintendents. This connection will build bonds to encourage industry-wide growth. The conference will include critical information for schools, districts, and superintendents, including sessions on cybersecurity, student data privacy, and other school and student safety initiatives.

VJ Smith, author and South Dakota State senator, will provide a leadership-driven motivational address. The CEO of Dale Carnegie, Joe Hart, and certified Dale Carnegie trainers will be on hand to provide valuable break-out sessions. In addition, Tyler Tarver, from Tarver Academy will address education and business by today's younger generations and the impact and effectiveness of social media platforms on today's students and generations. Dr. Lillie Cox, CEO of WE LEAD and the Executive Director of NCASCD will provide an educational update and address the success of the new SPOA Women's Leadership Advisory Council.

The conference will be held at the recently renovated Westin Galleria, serving as the ideal venue for events like the gala awards dinner, which will honor industry leaders and excellence in photography with SPOA's new school and yearbook photographic awards contest being launched in February.

The SPOA conference will be preceded by the Mastering Volume Photography (MVP) conference, June 8-9, also at the Westin Galleria. This co-location is through a special arrangement with MVP organizer and SPOA sponsor ImageQuix/PhotoLynx.

"We are beyond excited to host our MVP User Group in conjunction with SPOA's National Conference on School Photography and Yearbooks," says Emily Budz, marketing coordinator, ImageQuix. "With our 2022 motto in mind - Understand, Expand, & Explode - the focus of our user group is to provide studios the analytics and resources they need to understand the trends, expand their opportunities, and explode the growth of their business."

"Having these two events adjacent to each other makes the SPOA Annual Conference the must-attend school-photography and yearbook focused event of 2022," says Crandall.

The conference will also feature a trade show highlighting the ground-breaking technology and service providers for the school photography industry. Download the exhibitor prospectus here or contact Jeff Frazine, Director of Exhibit & Conference Sales at jeff@schooltraditions.org. The show will feature dedicated exhibit hours and all-conference meals are served in the exhibit hall. All exhibitors are also welcome to join all general and breakout sessions.