In March, 1965, Sil Horwitz, held a meeting at his home in Springfield, Virginia, to discuss ways and means of organizing a camera club to serve all of Northern Virginia. The meeting was attended by a group of Northern Virginia amateur photographers, Everett Johnson of the Greater Washington Council of Camera Clubs (GWCCC), and Jim Burchfield of the Washington Star. Afterwards, handbills were distributed and notices were placed in local newspapers inviting all interested persons to an organizational meeting at the Richard Byrd Library in Springfield on April 7, 1965. Twenty-two amateur photographers attended the meeting and formed what became the Northern Virginia Camera Club. A few had been members of the former Springfield Camera Club, but many were new to an organized camera club. However, they all shared an interest in developing their photographic skills. The members elected Sil Horwitz president, Ted Kirkham secretary, and Harry White treasurer. A committee was formed to write a constitution, and the new club voted to join the GWCCC and the Photographic Society of America (PSA).

Workshop sessions, which were started in 1973, proved helpful in bridging the gaps between novice and more advanced photographers. In that year several club members volunteered to make themselves proficient in various specialized techniques and to present programs demonstrating those techniques to the membership. Subsequently, the same programs were presented at several other camera clubs in the Washington area.

The classes of competition were expanded in September, 1974. The slide making competition was divided into Novice and Advanced classes, giving the club five classes of competition - two each in monochrome prints and color slides and one in color prints.

During the 1974-1975 season, the Executive Board worked on revising the constitution, by-laws, and rules of competition. They completed the task in mid-May 1975, and the membership ratified the revisions at a regular meeting at the Robinson School on June 4, 1975. The club also voted to change the name to the Northern Virginia Photographic Society.

The following photographer of the year awards are named after members who have made important contributions to our Society.

PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR - ADVANCED MONOCHROME PRINTS - SIL HORWITZ AWARD A

PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR - NOVICE SLIDES -
C. WILLIAM VALENCOURT MEMORIAL AWARD B

PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR - ADVANCED SLIDES - OLLIE FIFE AWARD C

A: Sil Horwitz, FPSA was one of the original founders of the Northern Virginia Photographic Society over 33 years ago and, although he has retired to Florida, he remains active in photography and is still exploring new worlds. He is currently the Webmaster for the Photographic Society of America and, for years, has written a column in the PSA Journal on new photographic products. A few years ago, we were honored when Sil came up from Florida to attend NVPS' annual banquet. This was a chance for some of us newer members (only 10 years in the club) to meet Sil personally and hear his views on several subjects. The club was then in an internal debate on digital imaging and manipulation and Sil was very frank with his views on the subject. He was excited about the future possibilities.

This award not only honors its recipient, but also honors Sil for his more than 33 plus years of contributions to amateur fine photography in NVPS, PSA and other groups around the country. (Written by Sherwin Kaplan)

FPSA - Fellow of the Photographic Society of America

B: C.William Valencourt was a tremendous member of the Northern Virginia Photographic Society. Bill joined NVPS around 1978. In the course of his too brief stay with us he was Workshops Chairman one year, served a term as Vice President for Programs, published FOTOFAX for two years and assisted in its publication almost every year, and spent a couple of years as Secretary/Secretary-Treasurer of the Greater Washington Council of Camera Clubs working to straighten out its books and other affairs. Last, but not least, Bill was President of NVPS in the 1981-82 club year. But, Bill was more than an untiring worker in tasks that were less highly visible. He was always ready to help anyone in any way he could to assure smooth operation of our club, to further its growth, and, in particular to help newcomers to the club and novices in the making of color slides. Because he felt strongly that many of our competition slides could be improved by cropping he held slide mounting workshops on a number of occasions. He supported and participated in most of the field trips held during his membership. After his death there was an outpouring of expression by a number of our members of their appreciation for Bill's help in, (1) learning of the existence of NVPS and the scope of its activities, (2) getting acquainted after they had joined, and (3) improving the quality of their work, particularly in the Novice Color Slide competition category. In view of Bill's service to NVPS and its members and his constant attention to improving the work of our novice color slide makers, the NVPS Executive Board has established the C. William Valencourt Award for Photographer of the Year in Novice Slides. (Written by Greg Gregory)

C: Ollie Fife, FPSA. Born, Oliver E. Pfeiffer, April 2, 1912, Middleton, Massachusetts. Died June 14, 1996, Alexandria, Virginia. Ollie Fife, as we knew him, worked in the Lawrence textile mills while studying advertising in night school. He moved to New York City after the 1929 Stock Market crash and worked for a Madison Avenue ad agency before finding his niche in freelance photography. In WWII he became a Navy Chief Photographer's Mate and designed and supervised the construction of a photo laboratory on board the aircraft carrier USS Sargent Bay from which he flew aerial photo missions. His career included being a newspaper photographer for the New York Times, Sunday Times & Travel Section, US Camera, Camera, Camera Craft, Ladies Home Journal and the illustrated London News. After the war he moved to Washington, DC, where he worked for the State Department, and as a writer/photographer covered the White House, Capitol Hill, and the Embassies. For the USIA International Press Service as a staff photographer he documented State Visits of the Queen of England; the King of Belgium; the Crown Prince of Japan; Soviet Premier Khrushchev; Prime Minister Nehru; French President DeGaulle; the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg; the Emir of Kuwait; and scores of other foreign presidents, vice-presidents, and prime ministers as well as cultural and artistic groups. He retired from the USIA in 1976 after more than 25 years of service. In retirement he traveled extensively in the U.S. and abroad pursuing his lifelong interest in photography. Ollie was a Fellow of the Photographic Society of America and active in many of its activities, among which he was Photojournalism Division News Editor for many years, wrote numerous articles and lectured and presented programs at PSA meetings and conventions. He assisted many NVPS members and conducted programs and judged photographic competitions for area clubs. Ollie brought honor to the Northern Virginia Photographic Society by his presence. (Written by Lynn Maniscalco)

NOTE: Help us update the history. Tell us what you believe were significant events/decisions since June 1975.