(A few years ago Edie Grace was chosen to be featured in a full page ad in Paula Deen’s magazine for the Vidalia Onion Committee.  After this ad ran – strangers would stop us and ask if she was the Vidalia Onion Girl.  They have continued to use her image [...]]]>

(A few years ago Edie Grace was chosen to be featured in a full page ad in Paula Deen’s magazine for the Vidalia Onion Committee.  After this ad ran – strangers would stop us and ask if she was the Vidalia Onion Girl.  They have continued to use her image in other marketing efforts through the years.  It has popped up again in this feature story for Delta In-Flight entertainment.  We are thrilled that they chose Edie Grace again for this.  Watch for her when you are flying Delta this summer.  If you are not flying soon – you can check the video out below.  Edie Grace is at :43 into the video. Thanks WB for always thinking of your friends!)

GEORGIA COMMODITIES FLYING THE FRIENDLY SKIES THIS SUMMER

Vidalia® Onions and Georgia Blueberries featured this May on over 17,000 Delta Airlines flights

Vidalia, GA.  April 18, 2011. Starting with Vidalia onions and Georgia Blueberries, Georgia commodities will fly high with Georgia-based Delta Airlines this summer. The produce pairing will appear on overhead and seatback monitors via the Delta Air Lines In-flight Entertainment Network the month of May, a key selling month for both. Then in June, Georgia Peaches and Georgia Watermelons will follow suit as part of the four-commodity marketing partnership.

“For several years, I and the other commodity group leaders have said that we need to pool our resources more often to spread the word about these delicious Georgia products,” said Wendy Brannen, Vidalia Onion Committee executive director. “What better way to showcase nationally our products than putting them in front of captive in-flight audiences.”

Vidalia onions and Georgia Blueberries, then Georgia Peaches and Georgia Watermelons, will be featured in 2-minute video spots that the commodity groups helped produce. The spots air during an estimated 17,375 Delta Air Lines flights, seen on overhead screens directly after the in-flight movie by more than 2.6 million passengers. They will also be an option on seatbacks as part of the Delta Lifestyle 365 show, which reaches an additional 1.5 million passengers per month. Delta’s Sky magazine and the Delta entertainment website will tout the commodities, as well.

The collaborative effort emerged through the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association and the “Georgia Grown” umbrella. “This Delta Air Lines alliance is the type of high profile exposure that we’re seeking for the ‘Georgia Grown’ brand,” said Charles Hall, executive director of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association. Within the inflight segment, Delta passengers will be given a web site to visit, www.gagrown.us, for more information.

The Vidalia Onion Committee (VOC) was established in 1989 as Federal Marketing Order No. 955.  The order authorizes production research, marketing research and development, and marketing promotion programs.  The VOC administers the order locally and consists of eight producer members and their alternates and one public member and an alternate. More information about the Vidalia onion industry may be obtained at VidaliaOnion.org.

In 2009, the Georgia Department of Agriculture formed the Georgia Blueberry Commission to support research, education and promotion programs on behalf of the state’s growers. Georgia claims the longest season in the U.S. lasting from late April through the end of July to enjoy fresh Georgia Blueberries – our very own “Sweet Georgia Blues.” Visit GeorgiaBlueberries.org after May 1^st for more information and recipes.

(Note: Scott Bryant is an award-winning photojournalist who has worked at the Statesboro Herald since 2007. The following piece offers his opinion and insight into why the current exhibit of presidential images by former New York Times photographer George Tames is so important [...]]]> Photographer: We may never see images like this again

George Tames

(Note: Scott Bryant is an award-winning photojournalist who has worked at the Statesboro Herald since 2007. The following piece offers his opinion and insight into why the current exhibit of presidential images by former New York Times photographer George Tames is so important and why we may never see their like again.)

      Interested in seeing honest, revealing photographs of your American president on the job? You know – candid, un-choreographed visual records which give us glimpses of the human being occupying the most powerful office in the world?
      If those kind of images might appeal to you, then run, as fast as you can, to the Averitt Center for the Arts in downtown Statesboro. Don’t delay, because this may be your last opportunity to see photographs like this.
      The Averitt Center’s main gallery is featuring an exhibit entitled "Private Presidential Pathways," displaying photographs by former New York Times photographer George Tames. While he covered many aspects of Washington, D.C., for nearly half-a-century, Tames developed a reputation for capturing unguarded, honest moments of presidents with his camera.
      What made Tames different were his instincts and persistence for finding something visually profound – his refusal to settle for the "herd" mentality that still often plagues news photography. Tames had an ability and desire to develop easy and informal access to powerful politicians, including – especially – the president.
      Since Tames’ death in 1994, both photography and politics have changed. The implementation of digital photography in reporting the news has accelerated the notion of being the first and the fastest, over all else. George Tames, on the other hand, emphasized thoroughness and familiarity to create his images. Tames was often the last to produce an image because he stayed later and shot longer than those clinging to the "herd."
      And politicians have learned a lesson – all too well. Image is everything.

Ronald Reagan
      It started, perhaps, with Ronald Reagan. Tames daughter, Stephanie (who lives here in Statesboro), told me Wednesday that her father got frustrated with Reagan, who first made his mark as an actor in Hollywood and was quite comfortable with the traditional method of producing moving pictures, whether film or video. Television producers, editors, and their ilk seemed all-to-willing to produce multiple takes and get things "right."
      Reagan was surprisingly uncomfortable with still photography, however. Once the photographer clicked the shutter, the record was made. Period. No re-takes. The image could be published. Or not. The president and his staff had no control over that.
      Stephanie Tames related a story about an image her father made of Reagan. It was an exercise in frustration. The newly-elected president invited photographers into the Oval Office. Tames wanted a picture of Reagan at work. Reagan simply wouldn’t stop posing. Tames stayed longer than every one else. Finally fed up, he started packing up his gear. That’s when the president picked up his papers and got back to work. And that’s when Tames was able to rattle off a frame or two to get the real picture.
      You can see that remarkable photo in the Averitt exhibit.
      Today, in 2011, getting even that picture is practically impossible. Not saying that most presidents haven’t been concerned with their image, but each one since Reagan has become exponentially more guarded, especially when it comes to photography.

Obama’s spin
      Much has been made of the news media’s alleged infatuation with Barack Obama. It’s been vilified by some. Parodied by others. However, I can tell you about one group of journalists that is not enamored with our sitting president – the pool of White House press photographers representing dozens of publications from all over the world.
      It’s ironic that a president who’s election platform included a commitment to government "transparency" has become so elusive to those assigned to cover him.
      The previous administration became frustratingly adept at limiting public appearances to simple, choreographed "photo ops" where photographers were typically allowed to make as many photographs as possible while walking between the entrance and exit of a room.
      I participated in one of these events when I worked in Savannah and the G-8 conference was held in Sea Island in 2004. I got the honor of waiting hours to photograph George W. Bush and Russia’s Vladimir Putin sitting in a small room in chairs next to each other. It was like a very short rock show with all the strobe lights going off as many photographers simply laid on their shutter releases until we were ushered (herded) out. The whole thing lasted about 20 seconds. Rattle rattle, here come the cattle.
      After promising greater "transparency," the present administration has gone so far as to eliminate even the cattle call photo op. Right from the start, the photographers assigned to covering the White House were excluded from the president’s first day in the Oval Office. From the controversial "do-over" oath of office. And a month later, from a historic meeting between the president and the Dalai Lama.

One photographer only
      In all these instances, the White House preferred, instead, to allow only Official White House photographer Pete Souza to witness these events with his camera, who’s images were subsequently distributed via the Flickr photo sharing web site.  The response from photo editors everywhere was immediate … information is "more valuable to the public if you know where it’s coming from."
      Michael Oreskes, Managing Editor for U.S. News, the Associated Press
      It’s clear that the White House staff saw this as an opportunity to take advantage of the Internet. To "democratize" the process of distributing photographs by allowing anyone to download these photos from Flickr rather than letting the wire services distribute pictures to subscribing news outlets. See for yourself: here’s a link to the Flickr White House photostream. That’s good, right?
      Well, it’s also clear this was seen as an opportunity to exert greater control over the image of the president. While the credibility of Pete Souza, a veteran news photographer and educator who also served as Ronald Reagan’s personal photographer in the White House during the 1980s, is widely-respected, wire services refused to distribute these photographs based primarily on two concerns: 1) this practice eliminates the potential diversity of images available to the public, and 2) the difficulty of determining the authenticity of an image not produced by someone on their staff.
      Even in a clearly controlled situation, each photographer makes decisions about how to compose their photographs. When to click the shutter. How to interpret what they witnessed. And each publication makes a choice about which photographs to publish.
      No more. What’s the harm, you say? Well, in an era where the authenticity of every digital photograph is in question, a multitude of photographers shooting the same event helps minimize the potential for deception. Photographers, or editors, or staffers in charge of publicity, are unlikely to manipulate, digitally or otherwise, photographs or situations for their own purposes if there are a multitude of images available from different sources.
      One of the core principles that makes the news media relevant and useful is its diversity of voices and points-of-view. Information often becomes credible when a consensus is produced from many independent sources. And this principle is just as true of photography as any other medium of communication.

Is this good?
      Ultimately, the question for you, the audience, is whether or not you are satisfied with our government representatives being the only source of visual information about themselves. I’m all for breaking with tradition as long as it serves a greater good. Are you being best served by this policy?
       Before you answer, though, please go see Tames’ photographs. They will be on display until June 15.
      He left us with lasting images of our presidents. Ones that really stick in our minds, individually and collectively.
       Tames’ photographs are ones that tell us something of the human beings who occupied the office of the President of the United States – their emotions. Their personal style. Their egos. Their strengths. And sometimes their frailties.
      Why are these images so important? Why am I telling you to run – as fast as you can – to see them?
      Because we may never see their like again.

By AL HACKLE Special to the Herald

    George Tames walked into the White [...]]]> Averitt Center exhibit focuses on the remarkable work of George Tames

Statesboro resident Stephanie Tames is the daughter of New York Times photographer George Tames, who made many iconic photographs while covering the White House for the New York Times.

By AL HACKLE Special to the Herald

    George Tames walked into the White House with a 10th grade education, an ego that set him equal to every occasion, a camera and an eye for telling a story.
    Working more than 40 years as a Washington, D.C., photographer for the New York Times, Tames photographed 10 presidents, who allowed him access to private moments as well as official encounters. A selection of the images is now on display at the Averitt Center for the Arts. The “Private Presidential Pathways” exhibit opened Friday and will remain through June 15.
    Tames’ best known photograph, taken of President John F. Kennedy in the Oval Office in 1961, was later entitled "The Loneliest Job in the World." Martin Sheen, as fictional President Josiah Bartlett, mimicked Kennedy’s stance for the opening sequence of "The West Wing," bracing himself on a table top with his back to the camera.
    Nearly as famous is Tames’ 1957 sequence of four shots of Lyndon Johnson, then Senate majority leader, talking to Sen. Theodore F. Green. Using his Texas stature and moving in very close, Johnson leaned forward and progressively forced the much shorter Greene to lean backward. As this series, entitled "The Johnson Treatment" demonstrates, Tames also covered Congress and knew some presidents before they were presidents.
    "George was different," said Jim Mones, director of photo archives for the New York Times. "He was a jokester, big on gossip, telling stories, a great  laugh. He would be the life of the party, and he became friends with these senators who became presidents. They all knew him and loved him, and George was able to get up close with people, the politicians, especially the presidents."
    Mones did not know Tames personally, having arrived at the Times about a year after his 1986 retirement, which was greeted with a legendary series of 14 retirement parties. But Mones first learned of Tames’ legacy while working in the newsroom, and later in filling archival requests for photos, as well as orders placed by photographers, politicians and history buffs.
    For example, the Times online store sells a framed copy of "The Johnson Treatment" for $395.
Eye for history
    Besides his personal touch, Tames had an eye for history in the making, said Mones, who further researched the man he says set "the gold standard for political photography." Mones spoke about Tames before traveling to Statesboro to take part in Friday’s grand opening of the exhibition.
    "Whether it was a visit of Churchill or Khrushchev or the ‘Dream’ civil rights march, George had a sense of history, that this is going to be big, and he had a tendency to get closer to an event and would size up a situation about where he needed to be," Mones said.
    Getting close to history was both a few small steps and one giant one for Tames. The eldest of six children of Greek immigrant parents, Tames grew up during the Great Depression in a poor neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Literally at the base of Capitol Hill, the homes in the area have long since been demolished to make room for government structures such as the Hubert H. Humphrey Building.
    Tames dropped out of school to help support  the family, and in the late 1930s took a job as an office boy in the Washington office of Time Inc. (later Time-Life), publisher of Time and Life magazines.
    Statesboro resident Stephanie Tames relates that her father learned the basics of photography at Time-Life while helping in the dark room and carrying equipment for the established photographers.

New York Times
    In the mid 1940s, he went over to the New York Times and remained to photograph every president from Franklin D. Roosevelt to George H.W. Bush.
    Stephanie grew up in a household where family pictures were mostly tucked away in boxes, while her father’s photos of presidents covered the walls.
    "There were so many pictures up at our house that growing up I thought I was a Kennedy," she jokes.
    But their father’s career made life interesting for the five Tames children.
     "It was really exciting having a father who had this kind of access," Stephanie said. "There were several times when he needed to make sure that there were lots of kids in a picture at the White House, and so we would get to go and stand in the crowd and be in the picture."
    Tames’ political inclinations are not hard to guess. His parents thanked Roosevelt’s policies for their family’s survival during the Depression, and young George arrived at the White House in time to meet and photograph FDR.
    "I would have to say that he probably leaned more Democratic than Republican, but he loved politicians and so it did not matter at all to him," Stephanie said. "He just loved the whole political process and really admired people who led the country and who went into politics."
    For years, her father would go directly from their home to the Capitol each morning and eat breakfast at a press table in the Senate dining room, greeting senators as they came in. But he also knew the elevator operators and the people who worked the subway.

‘Eye on Washington’
    The title of Tames’s book, "Eye on Washington: The Presidents Who’ve Known Me," published by HarperCollins in 1990, displays as much humor as ego. But his daughter observes that he was "no shrinking violet," and no less an authority on assertiveness than President Johnson affirmed it. Johnson autographed a picture of himself, "To George Tames, who taught me everything I know about modesty."
    That gem remains in Stephanie’s possession, but 27 of Tames’ photos, plus a selection of his many New York Times Magazine Sunday covers shots in miniature, are now on display at the Averitt Center. Her late mother donated some of his photographs to the National Portrait Gallery at the Smithsonian, but the Averitt now has a larger Tames collection.
    Stephanie, a freelance writer and artist, is writing a book about her father with the working title "One Man Show." She guided the selection of photos for the exhibition, which is sponsored by Lori Grice Photography and Dr. Larry Hubbard. The Averitt Center’s main gallery in is open Tuesday-Friday from 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
    "I’m really just thrilled to be able to share it with the Statesboro community and surrounding area and I’m hoping too that the Averitt Center can use it to go to other galleries and museums," Stephanie said.
    Any revenue, she added, will go to benefit the arts center.
    Averitt Center officials confirmed that they are seeking to make Private Presidential Pathways a traveling exhibit.
    "We’re putting together marketing packages now and looking at communities that have arts councils, particularly in Georgia, but we’re also looking at the regional market, mostly in the Southeast," said interim gallery coordinator Sheila Stewart-Leach.
    They are also testing the interest in places frequented by presidents, such as military bases and FDR’s Little White House at Warm Springs. 

Lori and DeWayne Grice

It is evident after meeting this husband and wife duo that giving back plays an important part in their lives. The couple strives to live according to [...]]]> Reposted from GSU’s Center for Entrepreneurial Learning and Leadership Publication

March 11, 2011 by Brittanie Barber Leave a Comment

Lori and DeWayne Grice

It is evident after meeting this husband and wife duo that giving back plays an important part in their lives. The couple strives to live according to the “Rick Warren concept” of living on 10% and giving away 90%. But had it not been for one photograph, the Grice’s may not have been able to play such a vital role in their community.

Since the age of eight Lori has had a camera in her hand when her Uncle entered the photography business and later founded Regency Photo.  When she was 18 years old she had the opportunity to attend her first Georgia Southern football game. Working her way through college in her uncle’s photo lab, it was a rare occasion when she got a Saturday off to go watch the Eagles. Given that opportunity, she was sure to take her camera with her. She snapped many shots but one in particular of a Georgia Southern Eagle running the ball, with his teammates cheering him on in the background, for a touchdown.  The owner of Archibald’s, which is now Gnat’s Landing, saw the photo and asked Lori for a print for his restaurant where the famed Erk Russell frequented. Coach Russell fell in love with the portrait and requested that the action shot be used in GSU’s marketing campaigns.  Erk’s endorsement of Lori’s work gave her the boost she needed to launch her highly successful photography business.

“My aunt actually said after that ‘it’s such a shame that you have reached your peak at 18,’” laughed Lori.

DeWayne, Lori and their daughter Edie Grace with GUS before an Eagles’ game.

DeWayne started off as a co-op student at GSU where he later graduated with a BBA in entrepreneurship.  While in college, he co-founded Cable Ad Concepts, a consulting agency for Northland Cable.  In this role DeWayne helped establish the advertising, production and news divisions in Northland Cable systems throughout the southeast. While managing Cable Ad Concepts, then Georgia Secretary of State Lewis Massey convinced DeWayne to come to Atlanta and help lead his gubernatorial campaign. In 1997 DeWayne founded Z to A Solutions, a nonprofit and political fundraising company. DeWayne’s company made a tremendous impact in the political and nonprofit arena by raising more $20 million in the short time he presided over the company. But this fast paced life wasn’t quite right for the couple who wanted to start a family.

John C. Maxwell, a successful leadership development author and motivational speaker, spoke to Lori and DeWayne while they were trying to figure out their path and said to Lori, “you have no idea how lucky you are and how wonderful it is to know what your gift is.” He also challenged DeWayne to find his gift, and DeWayne knew that leading political campaigns just weren’t his primary gift. So, DeWayne merged his company and returned to Statesboro full time to join Lori in her photography studio downtown.

Photography is more than just a portrait session and portrait sales for DeWayne and Lori, they pride themselves on their work and their community involvement.

“It doesn’t matter who we photograph, we have made it our goal to be proud to display our prints in any home across America,” said DeWayne.

In 2002, just 14 months after the birth of their daughter Edie Grace, Lori was offered the opportunity to travel to France and train with other professional photographers on a Thursday, on Friday she was chosen for Georgia Trend Magazine’s 40 under 40 and the following Monday she was diagnosed with Cervical Cancer. After being diagnosed, while holding her baby in her arms, Lori realized that if she couldn’t beat the cancer the only memories Edie Grace would have of her mother would be captured in portraits. Lori was reaffirmed of the power and importance of her job as a family’s portrait artist.  The cancer was caught early enough that Lori did not have to undergo Chemo-therapy.  After several surgeries and treatments, Lori is living cancer free. But she looks at life and photography in a new way.

“The greatest gift of the cancer, I realize, is that every day that I go into the studio I create the images and memories that may be someone’s last. So no matter how I feel that day I have to give my A-game.” says Lori.

Statesboro’s Averitt Center for the Arts as it stands today. The efforts of DeWayne Grice and community members led the renovation of a dilapidated bank into the arts center.

On top of their commitment to quality, the couple is dedicated to building their community. Lori and DeWayne played a fundamental role in rebuilding Downtown Statesboro. As President of the Downtown Statesboro Development Authority, she played an integral role in the redevelopment of several downtown buildings that were in ill repair including what is now City Hall. DeWayne was appointed by Statesboro professionals and then Mayor Hal Averitt to restore an old bank and movie theater into the successful Averitt Center for the Arts. DeWayne was a charter member on GSU’s Board for the Center for Continuing Education. DeWayne led the effort to restructure the largest nonprofit organization in the world, the American Heart Association, by streamlining the organization and creating just 12 regional offices instead of 51. DeWayne served as Chairman of the Southeastern Affiliate of AHA and as a national board member. Lori is an activist and national spokesperson for the HPV vaccination and early diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer. They were the first husband and wife team to be listed in Georgia Trend Magazine’s 40 under 40 and have both received gubernatorial appointments. Lori has been named Georgia Photographer of the Year in 2007 and twice named International Photographer of the Year. She is 1 of 2,000 photographers nationally certified out of the Professional Photography Associations 20,000 members. Lori was only the 14^th photographer in Georgia to be inducted into the prestigious American Society of Photographers.  In 2008, Lori was chosen to create an ornament for official White House Christmas Tree by First Lady Laura Bush, after being nominated by Congressman John Barrow.  Lori was the only photographer to be chosen. Currently, Lori and DeWayne are integrally involved in founding the Hearts and Hands Health Clinic in Statesboro.  DeWayne serves as the President of the clinics’ Board of Directors and they are committed to raising awareness and funds for the clinic, which offers free health care to those in the community, who have lost or cannot afford health insurance.

For more information about the husband and wife team or to schedule a Portrait Session please visit their website: lorigrice.com