2008 Convention
March 14-15, 2008

Hotel Roanoke
Downtown Roanoke, Virginia

Judging Friday March 14th 8 a.m.- late
Convention Saturday March 15th 8 a.m.- 4 p.m.
It is that time of year again and your presence is cordially requested at the Doubletree Hotel Roanoke in Roanoke March 14th and 15th for the annual VNPA Convention. This year Jared Soares of the The Roanoke Times is chairing the event. If you have any questions or suggestions for the convention please contact him at jared.soares@roanoke.com or (540) 981-3394.
Make your reservations by contacting the Hotel Roanoke at 1-866-594-4722 or (540) 985-5900. Let them know you are attending the VPA/VNPA convention for special rates.
VNPA convention: $30
Luncheon: $18 per person
Annual Dues: $20
Contest: $25 (must be mailed with your entry form...images sent via FTP)
Remember to get your contest images and entry fee of $25 to contest chairman P. Kevin Morley by February 24, 2006. All entries are to be sent via FTP rules are here. If you have questions about the contest, please contact kmorley@timesdispatch.com.

As always, the contest judging is open to the public and is a great opportunity to see the work of your peers.
Scott Strazzante has been a staff photographer at the Chicago Tribune since 2001. At the most recent POYi judging, Strazzante was named winner of the Community Awareness Award and was awarded runner-up in the Newspaper Photographer of the Year portfolio competition. In December 2007, Strazzante also finished 2nd in the portfolio division at the Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar.

Before arriving at the Tribune, Strazzante worked at The Herald News in Joliet where he was named 2000 POYi Newspaper Photographer of the Year.
Strazzante is a 5-time Illinois POY including the past 3 years in a row.

The President of the Illinois Press Photographers Association, Strazzante has also served as Director and Associate Director of Region 5 of the NPPA.

Strazzante is newly married and he and his wife Anna live in Frankfort, Illinois with their four children, two of his and two of hers.

Ken Lyons is currently senior photo editor at The Denver Post. Before moving to Colorado last year, Ken was the Director of Photography for the Orlando Sentinel. In Virginia, Ken was a photojournalist and editor at the Daily Press.

As a photojournalist Lyons was named third place Photographer of the Year in the Pictures of the Year competition. He received the Virginia News Photographer of the Year award twice. He has also been recognized for his work by the Virginia Press Association, National Press Photographers Association and POYi.

Honors for his picture editing work include first and second place Picture Editing Portfolio in the Pictures of the Year competition. While at the Orlando Sentinel the newspaper was awarded it's first editing awards in the Pictures of the Year contest and finished in the top 5 for the year in the Best Use of Photography contest. His work in Colorado has been recognized in the Best Use of Photography competition.

Ken lives in Parker Colorado, near the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, with his wife Cathy and their children Hannah and Hayley.

Bert Fox joined the Charlotte Observer in January 2007 as director of photography after ten years picture editing at National Geographic Magazine. At the Geographic he edited stories ranging from camel caravans across the Libyan Desert to a 70-page cover story celebrating 50 years of mountaineering on Mt. Everest.

Before joining National Geographic he was a picture editor at the Philadelphia Inquirer and an art director for the Inquirer's Sunday magazine. His honors include being named "Picture Editor of the Year" five times by the University of Missouri in its annual Pictures of the Year competition. He has participated in the Eddie Adams Workshop for 15 years.

He is also the director of photography for "Child Labor and the Global Village: Photography for Social Change," a ten-year documentary photography project that explores the complex issues behind child labor.
O. Winston Link Museum
The hosts of the 2008 Convention in Roanoke would like to invite everyone to a visit to the O. Winston Link Museum which recently opened in Roanoke. The photography museum features the work of 1950s railroad photographer O. Winston Link, who made many famous images of the steam locomotives at the close of the steam era. The museum is located directly next to the Hotel Roanoke where the 2004 VNPA Convention will be held.
Maud Bows to the Virginia Creeper, O. Winston Link 1956

Of course, we depend on volunteers to actually run the contest too. That's where contest chairman P. Kevin Morley, of the Richmond Times-Dispatch and his assistant Robert Martin, of the Freelance-Star come in. Their dedication carries through the entire year. They spend hours and days organizing the contest entries. Without them, the contest would simply not happen.
VNPA webmaster josh.meltzer@roanoke.com