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film, "El Mariachi", under some of the hardest circumstances. This was the inspiration Poff needed to start a bigger film project. Poff had just finished a New record called "Goodbye", but wihout his former band mates, he had no outlet for the material. Needing a new creative outlet, he decided to write and direct a film featuring the fictional band Minnie Strange to highlight those songs. He asked a friend of his, Ronnie Blakeney, a photographer/video- grapher and kind of a “Jack of all Trades” with many contacts around the Mississippi Coast, to help him get started. Ronnie saw his creative talent and jumped right in, pushing Stephen forward. “When I started I thought it would be a small project that I would watch with my kids and friends, oh this will be fun and maybe two people see it,” said Poff. “But Ronnie pushed me to take it to the next level. We had two days of casting and auditions.” And with the help of others his film project took on a life of its own. Once the filmwas complete there were premieres in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and in nearby Biloxi. They sold every DVD they pro- duced. But, Poff said, “The wind got taken out of its sail so to speak when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in August of 2005.” Poff found himself wondering what direction to go from there. However, his film, “Songs About Your Girlfriend,” would prove to be popular along the Mississippi coast. Because of Katrina, he and his family eventually moved toMont- gomery to help design and shoot photography for the magazine, TRAVELHOST. The publisher whom he had worked for on the Mississippi Coast brought the magazine to Montgomery. With his trips back and forth to Montgomery from the coast, he fell in love with Montgomery and all its rich history. On one of his trips, the opportunity to interview for creative services manager with a media company happened. He got the job. There he continued to hone his skills and provide creative commercials that weren’t your normal local commercials. A local agency took notice of Poff ’s extraordinary talent and scooped him up to work for them. There he provides clients with a level of video design that exceeds their expectations. Poff is always looking for ways to challenge himself with projects like the 365 days self-portrait project he did a few years ago. It was one of the things that attracted the agency to his work. He has also written and produced music videos. Find us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter JUNE 2019 19