Club History
A Brief History of the Tri-State photographic Society
By John Deering -- Founder
The Tri-State Photographic Society was founded in 1976 by Ann and John Deering for a rather strange reason: There were no print clubs in the Greater Cincinnati area that would accept women as members. Yes, in the bicentennial year of the greatest republic the world has yet known, women were not welcome to join any of them. Therefore, we started the Tri-State group.
The first meetings were held in the Covington, Kentucky Library at 11th and Scott Streets. Initially there were approximately eight members, and we met bi-weekly in a basement room where we displayed our slides and prints until the custodian forgot to let us in one evening. Then we found a bank room in Campbell County that remained our meeting place for several years.
The club struggled along for a few years until finally it began to catch on. The first Friday of the month we had color slides contests, discussions, and occasionally a program. On the third Friday we had print competitions and displays. Membership began to grow and the photography became better and better. A nature interest was introduced and it has become a significant part of that which was originally a “pictorial” club. Through the years the club has grown to approximately seventy members – most of whom are active throughout the year.
Even though the club was founded as a “film” club, in recent years it has become more and more digital. This, of course, is a kind of “sign of the time” where almost all such clubs have either totally made the transition to digital or are in the process of doing so.
There have always been other photographic activities: field trips of one or more days, outside speakers for the programs, outside judges of the photographs, and displays of the members’ works in places such as malls and local libraries.
The club usually meets bi-weekly at the Campbell County Cooperative Extension Service Office at 3500 Alexandria Pike, Highland Heights, Kentucky. The meetings are usually held on the first and third Friday evenings of every month at 7:00 PM. Visitors and prospective members are welcome – both men and women! In fact, the membership is about half and half in gender.
In Remembrance
John E. Deering, 91, of Ft. Thomas, passed away on September 21, 2018. John was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Ft. Thomas where he served as an Elder and a Deacon. He was a teacher and principal of Highlands High School for 25 years, and principal of Grandview Elementary School in Bellevue for 8 years. John was an Adjunct Professor of English and Education at the University of Cincinnati, and Northern Kentucky University for 43 years. John was a former member and past president of the Bellevue Rotary Club, the co-founder of the Tri-State Photographic Society (1976), and a member and past president of the Photography Club of Greater Cincinnati. John was a WWII navy Veteran serving on the destroyer, U.S.S. James E Kyes-DD-787. He was a graduate of Holmes High School, Eastern Kentucky University, and Xavier University Graduate School.
He will be missed.
