The Importance Of Volunteerism 75th

Throughout my photographic career I have helped organizations raise money and have volunteered either my time or prints. For me it is a way to give back to the community and to create images the way I want. It is also a way to experiment, break the rules and create something I would not normally be exposed to.

By volunteering and participating in projects, I have images that are still my favorites to this day. Three projects have been instrumental in my photographic journey. The first was photographing the restoration of Detroit’s theater district. The second is a continuing project of photographing a small Sicilian village where my family comes from. The third is my volunteerism of photographing for our sail club in Harrison Township, MI, which is where I photograph a lot of sailboat racing.

Our sail clubs 75^th anniversary of its founding was in 2021. Before the pandemic hit I was part of a team assigned to put together a book on our last 25 years that is a companion piece to our 50^th anniversary book. As you know, life stopped in March of 2020, and there was talk of halting the project. I could not let that happen, so I convinced our team to forge ahead. The result is a gorgeous 200-page coffee table book filled with many of my photographs.

What fills me with an immense amount of pride, is the recognition I received for my involvement in the creating the 75^th anniversary book. I was honored as one of two North Star Sail Club’s Members of the Year for 2021 at our annual Commodores Ball last month. Being a member owned and ran club that exists because of volunteers, I was humbled with the recognition of this honor. It is because of this honor, that it makes me more determined to continue my volunteerism into the future.