Memories

Sam taught me SO much about working with others and how he worked, behind the scenes and not direct. I was, with his help, able to respond, or not, in a much more effective manner to others. I was changing to see, and deploy, Sam's way of dealing with others. Sam was instrumental at establishing the Art Guild as much more professional. He implemented an Upper Board of business professionals (we are artists, not business people for the most part) and created standards, procedures, and official documents that helped us operate on a more professional level. It is through Sam's efforts and what he established that we are able to continue to operate without him. Sam also became a friend I relied on, and was just fun to talk with. Sam will be missed. He made a huge difference in the Art Guild as well as in myself.

Deborah Laux · worked with Sam at the Southern Utah Art Guild

My last conversation with Sam was a phone call that I thought would be about which camera I should buy for photographing birds. It turned into an hour of him doing what he loved most: teaching. He explained aperture diffraction with a garden hose, walked me through the three kinds of sensor noise, told me how hummingbirds run the same feeding circuit every fifteen or twenty minutes and land on the same perch within half an inch, and warned me to buy toward the system I would grow into, not just the camera in front of me. Every rule came with a story, and every few minutes he stopped to make sure I was still with him. He finished by promising to send me a few things to look at, and by telling me to misbehave as much as I could without getting into too much trouble. I recorded that call so I would never forget what he said. What he taught me that day is in the Book of Terms now, where he would have wanted it. The recording itself I will cherish forever.

Michael Davies · son-in-law