It took 12 years for someone to finally take a portrait/profile shot of me that replaced my previous favorite. That was done last April my FILM student Alex Chavez Ramos!This was taken on New Year’s Day 2024. The most important people in my life: my three sons — Jaydon, Jackson and Matthew and my Filipino mom and niece, Tiffany. Family is the most important thing in my life.In the past, students have asked for a picture of me from my childhood. But they’re hard to find! Here’s one from 1983 with my sister, Terry.I’ve been Little League baseball coach for a decade. Last summer I coached the Athens 14U All-Star team to a 3rd place finish in Georgia. Here I’m chatting with my catcher son, Matthew, in the Apalachee High School dugout.My passion is teaching, and I absolutely love being around students and becoming a positive influence on their lives. These four graduates from 2023 all took Photojournalism and are gainfully employed in media today.One of my side hustles is being the public address announcer for the Athens Rock Lobsters minor league hockey team. I’ve also announced for UGA Tennis.Growing up 20 minutes from “Sox Park,” I’m a huge Chicago White Sox Fan. In the best birthday gift ever, my wife surprised me with tickets and a flight to an event to meet Hall of Famer, “The Big Hurt” Frank Thomas.This is the love of my life, Carla. We met the second day of college in 1994, got married in 2000 and are living “happily ever after.”Yes, I was a radio star, doing evenings on the now defunct “Rock 103-7” in Athens as “Just Joe” for almost a decade.My best friend, Wrigley, who is always up to mischief.A big part of getting good photos is “getting lucky.” Here, I happened to notice my flight was landing into Chicago overlooking Soldier Field. I put my phone to the window and kept snapping.This is the best nature photo I’ve ever taken. I stopped my car in downtown Athens and ran to the corner to get this shot on my iPhone.
Piedmont Photojournalists 