Jeannie says she learned a lot from her father both in business and with life. He helped her to see the beauty of the world all around - through the lens and without the lens.
She was introduced to photography as a child.
"It wasn't intentional," Jeannie said. "My mom worked, and dad had to pick me and my brother up from school. It was too early to take us home, so he took us to the photo lab where he worked. For a little girl who was five, seeing the print come alive in a bath of liquids was pure magic."
 She received her first camera soon after those visits, and there was seldom a time she didn't have a camera with her. By freshman year of high school, she was the photographer for the school year-book. The next year she became its photographer and editor.
Jeanie remembers experimenting with other interests while growing up. She spent several years as a member of Job's Daughters. There were the usual dance and music classes, along with a period in Girl Scouts.
"I can still remember the smell of the room at Miles Memorial Methodist Church where our Girl Scout troop met," she said. "Our meetings would always begin with the Girl Scout Promise and Law. A camping trip to Camp Apaus was one of the highlights of my first year in Girl Scouting. I liked it, but like most things I would stay just long enough for my mom to buy the full dance outfit or Girl Scout uniform, and then I would want to try something else. What I really loved, and what I really stayed with, was photography. It was something I shared with my dad."
Jeannie is thrilled with the result.
"My dad always wanted me to do whatever made me happy," she said. "This makes me happy."
Jeanie is also carrying on her dad's legacy of volunteerism. She has served as president of the state's professional photographer's association and takes time out of her business schedule to give tours and workshops to Girl Scout troops. This year, she volunteered her services to help create a calendar for the Girl Scout Council of Colonial - a calendar to help the council mark the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouts nationwide.
The women photographed for the calendar are all former Girl Scouts and leaders in the greater Hampton Roads community. Among them are former Virginia Beach Mayor Meyera Oberndorf
and U.S. Navy Captain Mary Jackson, the first female commanding
officer of the Norfolk Naval Air Station.
"I'm impressed with Girl Scouting and what they are doing today," Jeannie said. "My grandmother was a Girl Scout in Troop 1 in Norfolk. I don't have my handbook, but somehow that one has survived. I know she would be impressed too, and happy that I'm able to help them out."
If you wish to purchase an anniversary calendar or to find out how you can become involved in Girl Scouts, visit www.gsccc.org or call them at 547-4405.
Marcella Germanotta
Communications Director
Girl Scout Council of Colonial Coast
A Place for Girls
912 Cedar Rd. , Chesapeake , VA 23322
757-547-4405 ext. 1258; direct 549-0836; fax757-547-1872 marcyg@gsccc.org
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