Love A Local Business

WE'RE SOOOO EXCITED!!!!!!!
I am very blessed to have been able to find my true passion......being a portrait photographer. I remember when I first found it. At my first job as a photographer years back (don't need to reveal how old I am) I told a co-worker, "I could do this for free." I remember she looked at me in the strangest way but that is what I honestly felt. Realistically I can't do it for free but I just LOVED how rewarding it was and STILL is!! One main component of portrait photography is people! After all, without people, who would I take pictures of? I have always been a people person. I get to hear about other people's lives and a lot of times get to relate to them. I have laughed sooo much that my cheeks hurt! I have also cried at very sad times in some of my client's, who became friend's, lives. I know that capturing these moments for people, in essence, is making time stand still. Who else can do that?

When the opportunity to win a small business grant came up such as the Love A Local Business one, I jumped at the chance! With this, they want to know what does your company do for the community and how have they helped. I TRY to help organizations as much as I can! Sometimes I run myself a little too thin because I can't say no. One of the biggest contributions that I made was creating a collage of Parkersburg after an EF5 tornado wiped out almost half of our town. The collages were sold nationwide and ALL proceeds were donated to help rebuild our City Park for our children. Overall, the donation ended up being $12,000. I was floored at how well it took off! The collage was a combination of 11 different images. The images together showed a sign of hope and what a strong community we do have......together.

This month, July, starts a new trimester. A grant of $5,000 is also rewarded once a month. At the end of the trimester, I have the chance of winning $30,000 to put towards growing my business. I started running my own studio out of my home in 2005. By 2009, I had outgrown our house and needed to make a decision of what to do and where to go. I chose to relocate to a storefront downtown Parkersburg. Right now I am currently renting but I would like to own. This grant would be very helpful in doing that.

My clients are a HUGE part of why my business is successful. They are loyal and have faith in me to capture those special moments for them. Because of that, I continue to grow!