I have been holding this news in since October and I am ecstatic to finally make an official announcement.
Rena O. Productions will be the official sponsor of photography for NCAA Final Four 2016
How did I get it?
Proposals can be hard to find at times so I was fortunate to even receive it. My mother met the lead contact and gave me her card and that is all she wrote.I got the proposal on September 1st and it was due on the 14th.
To apply you have to be certified with the city and complete a proposal. Luckily, I started my certification process over the summer , but there were a few major things I still needed to finish. It was non stop hustle and paperwork. They ask for EVERYTHING. List of equipment, clients, proof of this, proof of that , office visit, net worth statement and everything in between. I got it done and I turned my application in maybe 5 minutes before the deadline.
I doubted myself
The day before it as due I didn’t have one word of the proposal written up. I had all the backend items ( certification, application and etc) , but as I started to write the proposal I started to doubt myself. I had never done something like this before, I thought I wasn’t going to be good enough. I do a lot of events and portraits but haven’t done a ton of sports photography. What if they don’t take my proposal seriously?, What if they see that I am young and don’t think I have enough experience?…I literally started to freak out.
Then I snapped out of it and realized what is the worse that could happen? Am I going to just claim my fate before I even attempt? How will I ever have more experience and If I don’t at least submit an application? I took a few deep breaths and wrote the proposal the day it was due and turned it in. At the end of the day the worst thing that could happen is I didn’t get it and that won’t kill me , but I can’t live with the fact that I didn’t even try.
Did that really just happen?
The following week NCAA said they hadn’t decided on a photographer yet , but they needed a few events covered. I showed up and showed out. Even if I wasn’t chosen I wanted to take full advantage of all opportunities.
Then, they called me for another event and another and another. After a month I decided to go in for the kill and just ask who got th
e bid because I didn’t just want to assume. The response was basically along the lines of I thought you knew you got it. There wasn’t an official letter, email or announcement so I didn’t want to be over confident , but the second I got the confirmation I stared at my screen for a good 60 seconds smiling from ear to ear.
It’s more than just a game
NCAA Final Four local committee was truly committed to serving the community.
- They choose 64 low performing schools to participate in a Read to the Final Four program to encourage more third graders to read.
- Multiple organizations and volunteers came out to remodel the Blue Triangle Community Service
- Multiple organizations and volunteers came out to remodel the Blue Triangle Community Service
- Spearheaded numerous service projects around Houston in underprivileged areas
- Remodeled a local Boys and Girls Club
Why should you be excited about the Final Four?
This is great for the Houston economy! There are so many free /very affordable events going on that are fun for all ages! Check them out here!
The youth clinics are FREE!
Sponsoring Schools are TSU, Rice and UH. The Ocean of Soul has entertained us many times along the way to pump up the hype!
