[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 32 (Tuesday, March 19, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E383]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


             HONORING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF MR. LES CAMPBELL

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOHN W. OLVER

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 19, 2002

  Mr. OLVER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the public service 
contributions of Mr. Les Campbell of Belchertown, MA. Mr. Campbell's 
work as a nature and wildlife photographer is well known in 
Massachusetts' First District and throughout New England. In addition 
to founding several photography organizations and serving as an active 
or honorary member of countless others, Mr. Campbell is a tireless 
resource for the young photographers with whom he enjoys sharing his 
knowledge. Mr. Campbell, now retired, was a lifelong government 
employee at the Quabbin Reservoir. He has been a champion for keeping 
that magnificent body of water untouched by development.
  On March 29, 2002 The Valley Portfolio, a community photographic 
resource center in Springfield, MA will present to Mr. Campbell a 
lifetime achievement award at a reception. On this day, members of our 
community will gather to celebrate his contributions and 
accomplishments. Mr. Campbell's awards and citations could fill a 
gallery. He may be the only photographer ever to receive four awards 
from the Photographic Society of America: (1) the Buxton Award (1958) 
as the world's leading exhibitor of nature prints that year, (2) the 
Stuyvescent Peabody Award (1972) as ``the PSA member who has 
contributed the most to pictorial photography,'' (3) the Victor H. 
Scales award (1973) for ``diligent and meritorious service to 
photography and the Society and especially for his untiring efforts to 
teach and interest young people in photography and the arts,'' and (4) 
the Appreciation Award (1981), the Society's highest award and the only 
one selected by its officers.
  Mr. Campbell's organizational skills are legendary among those who 
have served alongside him in the various clubs and organizations he 
founded to which he belonged. In 1967 he originated Focus: Outdoors, an 
annual three-day environmental conference that drew as many as 1,000 
participants. Mr. Campbell was named an honorary member of the New 
England Camera Club Council in 1968, that organization's highest award.
  As president of the New England Camera Club Council he took a sleepy 
organization with only 13 member clubs and increased that number to 83, 
increased the council's treasury from less than $25 to more than 
$7,000, and created a weekend conference at the University of 
Massachusetts that grew from 300 to 2,000 participants in five years.
  Most recently, Mr. Campbell began the Pioneer Valley Photographic 
Artists, a group of talented photographers committed to elevating 
photography's role as a fine art.
  Mr. Campbell's skills also extend to the mechanical side of 
photography. He invented the Vis-0-Tray slide storage and editing 
system in the 1960s to facilitate organizing slides for presentations. 
To photograph water skiers, he created a special platform on the 
towboat that has since been copied by other photographers.
  Mr. Speaker, I take this opportunity to thank Mr. Les Campbell for 
his creative and positive influence on the art of photography in our 
community.

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