Legends Event Photo: Not your typical small-town business
‘Family affair’ for owner sees him travel the United States
Photography is a family affair for Kevin Cook.
Cook, who owns Legends Event Photo in the heart of Downtown Clinton, not only works in East Tennessee; he often packs his camera gear and hits the road to shoot youth sporting events.
He recently returned from Fort Walton Beach, Florida, where he covered an elite national youth softball tournament, where his family members worked alongside him. His son, Keaton; his wife, Shannon; his daughter, Kennedy; his mother and father; and his in-laws were on the trip to the Sunshine State.
Other family members were also on hand, as was founder and former owner Tim Baird, who despite being semi-retired, still does some work for the company.
“It really is a family affair for us,” said Cook, who began working for Baird in the 1990s before purchasing the company in 2015.
“We have our second generation,” he said “Keaton is working in video and he’s learning the business, and it’s great to share what I’ve learned with him.
“My daughter, Kennedy, works with us and so does my wife. She’s a special-education teacher in the Clinton City Schools.
“My mom and dad were on the trip, and I had a niece and nephew with us. Tim was on this trip, and he’s been in my life for a long time. He was my Sunday School teacher.”
Legends Event Photo primarily works with youth sports organizations. Some of the company’s clients include Clinton Baseball, Inc., Lake City Baseball and NAGAF. One of Legends’ biggest clients is Farragut Baseball.
“We do some high school stuff, but most of our work is with youth sports,” Cook said. “We have about 40 to 45 K-12 schools where we do the school pictures.
“I love the variety. One day, we’ll be shooting kindergarten cap-and-gown pictures, and the next day, we’re at the ballpark.”
Legends Event Photography is located at 363 N. Main St., but the company reaches far beyond Clinton.
This year, Cook and his company have photographed events in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Rhode Island, Ohio, Tennessee and Alabama.
The company has a core group of 12-15 employees and will expand at its busiest times of the year. The company’s website is legendseventphoto.com. Customers can book Legends there, but Cook said the company gets a good amount of its business by word-of-mouth.
Legends has a sister business, Clinton Awards and Gifts, which provides trophies and other awards.
“We’re an all-encompassing stop, “ Cook said.
