The day after we got back from Jamaica I started my first J-O-B that required me to wear a badge and had health benefits. I was the Chief State Photographer for Tennessee. I was hoping for a cool sheriff style badge or head-dress instead of a plain white security badge but it never happened.
In short, I followed Governor Bill Lee around and documented all the awesome things he is doing for Tennessee. There was a lot more to the job, but that’s the short and fun version. I have never been a ‘political person’ but I can’t say enough wonderful things about Bill and Maria. I wouldn’t have taken the job if it had been anyone else taking office as Governor. Bill and Maria are some of the most genuine and thoughtful people I have ever met.
I was lucky enough to do the photos for Bill’s marketing campaign, ride around on a stinky R.V. all over the state, and document all of the behind the scenes of his campaign which all lead to a job with the state. You learn a lot about people when you get to be a fly on the wall and watch them tackle such a huge and stressful endeavor. I have so much love and respect for Bill and Maria…just can’t say enough good things about them.
The job was a tremendous experience and I am so thankful for all the experiences I had. Governor Lee is a very busy man, and has an entire state to take care of, which meant I was also a very busy man. The job was taking me away from my Lacy and the boys far more than I ever want to be away from them, so even though it was an incredibly tough decision, I decided to resign and go back to running my photography business full time.
Here are some photos from my time on the campaign and a few as Chief State Photographer. There are a ton photos I would love to share, but every photo is sent through the Governor’s office for approval and I want to be respectful to my friends…and the state of Tennessee. If you want to see more photos of what the Governor is up to there is a Flickr account to see all the photos.
