Wow!  Here we are in November already and the holiday season is almost upon us.  For many of us (myself included), this is a very busy time of year.  However, before I get too busy, I want to thank the judges who worked with us last month to make our print competition such a wonderful event.  Ronna Schary, Anne Hutton and Tim Mathiesen generously gave us their time and expertise while providing some great feedback for last month's print competition.  As always, this was a wonderful learning experience for all who attended.
 
If you are new to PPLAC and haven't participated in print competition, you're missing out on an unparalleled learning opportunity.  Simply stated, participating in print competition will help you take your work to the next level.  If you would like some guidance about how, why and when to participate in print competition, please don't hesitate to ask any Board member for assistance.
 
And speaking of Board members, I am pleased to make the following announcements for our Executive Board:
- Karen Nakamura has accepted the position of Vice President on the PPLAC Board beginning with the 2010-2011 term, bringing with her years of experience as Treasurer.  Karen will be responsible for our programs, including speakers, workshops, studio shares and photo safaris.  We've got a great speaker lineup for 2010, which Karen will augment with a series of studio shares and workshops throughout the year to give you plenty of learning opportunities.
- Sharon Lobel has accepted the position of Treasurer on our Board beginning with the 2010-2011 term.  Sharon's business savvy and experience with Quickbooks makes her uniquely qualified to fill the void left by Karen's move to VP.  Over the next several months, Karen will work with Sharon to get her up to speed on PPLAC's finances and bookkeeping, and migrate us to the Quickbooks platform.  
- Sharon's move leaves the position of Secretary open, which will be filled by Biljana Milasin.  As one of our newer PPLAC members, Biljana brings a fresh perspective and new ideas and we are delighted to have her onboard.
 
And filling out the rest of the Board . . .
- Irene Benavente has agreed to co-chair our Print Competition committee with Bob Young.  Irene has been an integral part of PPLAC's print competition for a number of years and we are delighted to have her leadership, talent and experience on the Print Competition committee.
 
Please join me in welcoming all of our new Board members.
 
We still have the position of Editor open on the Board.  The Editor will work closely with Alicia Bravo, our Website and Newsletter Director, to provide content for our newsletter and other key communications for our member community.  Please contact me if you are interested in filling this position.
 
I look forward to seeing everyone at our last general meeting of the year on Thursday, November 19.

Jim Brammer
PPLAC President