President's Message 
Dear PPLA Members,
As the incoming President of PPLA, I would like to take this opportunity to
introduce to you our new Executive Director, Mr. Roch Eshleman. Roch
is a Graduate of Loyola University with a BA degree, and a minor in
Business
Administration. Roch has an extensive business background,
having
been the owner of a Theater and Coffee House (which were
destroyed by the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina), and is now the Business Manager of Romaguera Studios and a “Kodak
Approved Speaker". He is also the winner of the 2010
PPA AN-NE Award for the best High School Senior
Marketing campaign in the nation.
The PPLA Board of Directors believes that Roch will be a positive force to move our association forward into
the future. No matter what you may have heard or have been told, I want to assure the membership that the
decision to offer this position to Roch was made by an overwhelming majority vote (75%) of the entire Board
of Directors including the Executive Committee. Under Roch’s guidance, we look forward to a much more
smoothly and efficiently run organization.
The key to having a successful organization that people want to be a part of, is getting people involved. The
spirit of volunteerism is the fuel that powers associations such as ours, so the leadership of your association
are making efforts to increase membership involvement. Our focus this year will be to get as many members
as possible involved in the running of your association, because involvement breeds ownership.
In the past, PPLA had numerous committees that acted to involve members in association activities, In recent
years, this membership involvement has been replaced by the members of the Board and the Executive Committee
of the Board doing everything. We are making efforts to change this.
The PPLA State Fellowship degree had gained the reputation of being one of the most difficult in the country
to achieve, and that was based somewhat in truth, since half of the requirements for the Fellowship rest in elements
of service to our profession, but with no committees or other service groups in place on which to serve,
there were few opportunities for members to achieve service recognition.
The committees of the past will be revived to offer our members an opportunity to get involved and network
with others. Networking spawns a spirit of fellowship - fellowship fuels the engine of volunteerism - and
volunteering leads to friendships being formed - friendships that last a lifetime. We also have a new Service
Award degree that we are implementing in addition to our long standing PPLA Fellowship degree, and we
believe that our members will wish to strive to achieve this distinction. Leading or serving on a committee
is one means of working towards one or both of these degrees, and we intend to open more opportunities for
volunteer involvement.
Soon you will be receiving information about the committees that we are reviving. I urge you to consider volunteering
to be a part of one of these groups. In the past, being part of a PPLA committee was an invaluable networking opportunity, and an incredible opportunity for fellowship with your fellow photographers. Remember, the best way to gain for yourself, is to give of yourself.
We look forward to providing as many members as possible the opportunity to work towards their Service Degrees and Fellowships, and we look forward to reviving the spirit of Friendship and Fellowship that existed in the past - for the future of our association.
If you have any questions, or are interested in being a more active part of PPLA, I urge you to contact your District Directors.
I look forward to seeing you and working with all of you at our PPLA events this year. Stay tuned for more information - it’s going to be a great year.
Respectfully,
Rick Massarini, M. Photog.
President, Professional Photographers of Louisiana. Inc.
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