Every year for nearly the past 10 years, I have been working at the Annual Western Family Picnic, hosted by the Public and International Affairs Office for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the Marriott Ranch in Hume, VA, located in the breathtakingly beautiful rolling hills of the Shenandoah. This year, the event fell on September 11th, a National Day of Service. All the International Embassies, staff and their families are invited to this event by the Church as an expression of goodwill to the countries for whom much of the Church's Humanitarian efforts are made and as an expression of thanks for hosting many of our missionaries in their country. This year was a record breaking year with nearly 40 Embassies represented and several hundred attendees. For the past 10 years, my job at the event has been that of a portrait artist for the dignitaries. Three other artists joined me this year: Jonathan Linton Lester Yocum, and Tai Hemleniak.
