Membership
Report
(Click here
to go to the Membership page)
We have
four open membership applications. The application for Jim
Cruce was declined because the membership criteria was not met. The
application for Roy Anderson is under review to determine if
there is a conflict with an existing MABE business.
Today was
the last day to get applications in for the realtor position.
We have 3 applications on the table. If you have questions or concerns over
any of these realtor applications you will need to contact
Brian Verbraken as soon
as possible.
Recently
submitted membership applications:
[membersonly/archives/applications/submitted_applications.htm]
Social Report
(Click here to go to the Social Event page)
The next rafting trip is on April 23rd.
Speaker Coordinator Report
(Click here to go to the Speaker Schedule)
Main Speaker:
Spotlight Speaker:
Treasurer Report
No report.
46-21, 46-29, 16-17, 37-47, 37-32, 17-24, 12-40, 12-29, 28-23,
05-17, 45-32, 21-26, 06-34, 04-41, 31-41, 31-10, 14-23, 43-47,
43-11, 43-02, 40-13, 40-28, 40-41, 40-32, 25-13, 25-28, 25-23,
25-38.
This week's
leads focus...
Keith Miller was today's Business Spotlight.
So, how was your breakfast this morning? If you had
the sausage, Keith had bad news for you. Sausage has all
those tasty fats. Speaking of fats...how about the butter
and margarine. At least with butter you can scrape it off
via enzymes. The margarine has oils that will stick to you
like glue, you'll get clogged and then it is time to see Jim
Bache. If you had the fruit and bagel but skipped the
cream cheese...you still may not be doing too well. If you
don't eat a balance meal of proteins and carbs you will store
the excess as fat until you use it up (think bicyclist vs.
football player).
Are there any weekend warriors in the group?
If you are one of them, make sure you stretch first or you run
the risk of pulling, tearing and ripping things in your body.
If you don't know how to stretch properly, pay Keith a visit.
Don't let modern technology add to the
problem. We don't even get up to turn on the TV anymore
thanks to the remote. Next thing you know, there will be a
remote to open the refrigerator and feed us our food.
Getting up is GOOD.
Reg &
Jean Batt
Portraits by
Reg
Reg and Jean Batt spoke today with the help
of their son, Mike and long-time employee, Dave Howard.
Jean joked that with spring being such a busy time of year for
them, she didn't have time to worry about the speech this
morning as she has in years past.
Jean grew up on a ranch in South Dakota.
She moved to Colorado to attend college. That is where she
met Reg. They have a son, Mike, and two daughters.
Both daughter had a set of twins making Reg and Jean very proud
grandparents.
Reg grew up in a small Colorado town.
He enjoyed it because he got to be involved with everything.
He also liked having lots of family around. While in
college he participated in swimming and track. He
graduated in '61 and married Jean that summer. He then
went into teaching and coached 3 sports. During the
summers he was a life guard and managed swimming pools.
In 1969 Reg had an opportunity to be a
graduate assistant at the UofA in Tucson. He really liked
Arizona. In 1978 he moved his family here. They went
into partnership with another couple and opened their
photography studio. Reg and Jean didn't have any money to
put into the business so for their part, they agreed to work
free for a year and then be made partners. They lived off
of their retirement that first year.
After 2 years in business it became
apparent that this business could not support two families so
Reg and Jean bought out the other partners. It was a
struggle. Jean was ready to give up after reviewing the
books each month but Reg convinced her to give it a little more
time. An employee met a business consultant on a plane and
introduced him to the Batts. It was with his help and
encouragement they were able to weather the lean years.
Although he did later admit that they never should have made it.
But they did.
There have been several stumbling blocks
along the way. A couple of years ago their business
survived a fire and last year, right after taking that big step
to convert to digital, they were burglarized. They took
this time to offer testimony to fellow MABE member Roman
Okonowski. He went to bat for them and convinced the
insurance company not to drop their policy.
When they first started in business they
had only one school. But the Valley has grown
substantially and Portraits by Reg has grown right along with
it. Along with doing senior portraits at most of the local
schools, they also do undergraduate pictures and team sports.
As these kids graduated they started coming back for wedding
pictures, family portraits, etc. To meet the demand, the
studio has added 12 full-time employees.
Reg and Jean admit that they are a couple
of old dogs overwhelmed by a lot of new tricks. They were
reluctant to switch from what they knew....film, to the
unknown...digital. Luckily, they had a lot of young blood
in at their studio who already had background experience with
the new programs and technology. But despite the
ability to change, the studio was simply too busy .
The staff did not have the time to do the research necessary for
a smooth and successful transition.
Enter Mike. Mike was not interested
in joining the family business. After graduating from
school he moved to California. But 3 years ago he moved
back and joined the team. He had no experience in
photography which probably ended up being a good thing. He
was able to do all of the research on the new digital technology
without being hindered by bias.
They were finally ready to make the switch
from film to digital. It was a very successful transition.
Even the "old dogs" that were reluctant to change enjoyed
playing with the new equipment. And the options that they
are now able to offer the clients are endless and invaluable.
They can easily add and delete people from images, add jackets,
cover bare shoulders with long hair, etc. They even
mastered the art of the "photo diet"!
So you no longer have any excuses to
put off that family picture! Schedule yours today.
[membersonly/archives/former_members/batt.htm]