The Dubuque Camera Club held its end-of-the-season picnic on Monday, June 7th, 2021 at the America’s State Tree Woodland Walk shelter in the Mines of Spain Recreation Area. Twenty club members and two guests attended. The club provided pre-packaged box lunches and bottled water for a light evening meal. (We hope to bring back the yummy potluck next year!)
Jennifer Tigges did a great job with purchasing and gathering food and supplies for the picnic. Not only did she bring tablecloths, but they were each weighted down against the breeze with bug soother or hand sanitizer. Very practical!
During the picnic, Cara Pusateri, club N4C rep, gave out stacks of ribbons and comments from this season’s N4C contests. Because our club has been holding virtual meetings since April 2020, she had quite a few awards stacked up. Our club did awesome during the 2020/21 season! See the Club Winners page for our club’s top photographers who earned recognition in the monthly N4C contests.
At the start of the evening, Chuck Isenhart, who is a state representative in Des Moines, as well as a club member, gave a short pitch for club members to support the Dubuque County Land and Water Legacy coalition. This will be another option for protecting the natural areas and creatures that so many of us love to photograph!
Casey Klein passed around a printed copy of a recent Galena CFA virtual exhibit. You can order printed copies of the flipbook, which makes a nice keepsake for participants! See all the flipbooks here. If you are interested in future opportunities, contact their gallery manager or sign up for their newsletter on the Galena Center for the Arts website.
Other news shared or overheard during the picnic….
- Henry Matthiessen suggested that everybody who participates in the upcoming Smokestack exhibit needs to commit to share the event (either on social media or in person) at least FIVE times.
- Stephonie Schmitz has agreed to use her graphic design skills for the upcoming club photography exhibits.
- Jennifer and Ron brought a sample “Woodsnap” print, just in case the club wants to print the DuMA show on wood this year.
- Ken Kiss is planning a trip to the Great Smoky Mountains, so get ready to see lots of great scenic images!
- Kevin McTague is caring for a bluebird trail at Swiss Valley. This year, it was used by 10 bluebird families and 4 tree swallow families.
- New club member Jim Kelly is originally from Ireland (really!)
- Nick Lucy was so happy to come to the picnic, he arrived one day early! (Shhh, don’t tell!)
New club officers for 2021-2022
The club also (re)elected officers for the upcoming season. Jennifer started out with a bang in her new role as treasurer by giving a snapshot of the club’s (healthy) finances. She is also still on the N4C board of directors. New club vice president Jim Durrant will sub for Ron to lead meetings when needed. Cara will continue her role as N4C rep, but she is looking forward to training a new volunteer. Ken will continue to handle the Nature and Black & White entries.
| Club office | Club member |
|---|---|
| President | Ronald Tigges |
| Vice President | James Durrant |
| Treasurer | Jennifer Tigges |
| N4C Representative | Cara Pusateri |
| N4C Representative | Kenneth Kiss |
| Communications | Pamela Brandt |
UPCOMING EXHIBITS — An opening reception for the Dubuque Camera Club exhibit at the Smokestack will be held on Friday, July 2nd from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. More info here. This is a really nice venue, so be sure to invite the people you know!
Trees at DuMA. Everybody please check what you sent in for the Trees exhibit at the Dubuque Museum of Art. If you want to add or delete an image, let Ron or Ken know. For DuMA, we’ll order prints as a club. Opening date is Nov. 13. It will be on display during an exhibit of Associated Press photos that were taken during the Vietnam war.
Participating in club exhibits & activities is a perk of Dubuque Camera Club membership!
NEXT MEETING…
Remember, there are no regular meetings during the summer. The first club meeting of the 2021/22 season will be on Tuesday, September 7th at 6:30 p.m. We plan to meet in person.
Membership dues of $20 will be due at the Sept. 7 meeting. You are welcome to click this link to renew your member dues online. New members may join the club using the same link.
