Known to many as the sports photographer on the sidelines of all games, Mr. John Thompson has generously volunteered his time and photographic abilities to the St. Dominic community for many years. He is not paid for this, so everything that he does is an act of charity to give back to the school community.

Not originally from Missouri, Mr. Thompson was born in New York and moved here for schooling. He and his wife Leota have been married 36 years and have two sons, Ryan and Ian, who both graduated from St. Dominic. Mr. Thompson also has three grandchildren.

After an injury to his knee caused him to step away from refereeing, Mr. Thompson fell in love with the hobby of photography. The idea of taking pictures at school games began when his sons attended St. Dominic in 1998. Using a film camera, he took around 24 pictures per night. Mr. Thompson enjoyed taking the pictures so much that it became a usual activity. Now, he averages about 700 pictures each game.

With a bachelor’s degree in aeronautics, Mr. Thompson’s real job is a business manager over the weapons systems at Boeing. So how does he find the time to take all these pictures? The answer is long hours and little sleep. Each moment he spends in the field or on the court is equivalent to one minute of processing the photos. Not to mention the time it takes loading the pictures, making backups, sorting, filing and creating the CDs that each senior athlete receives at the end of their season. And all this is done free of charge.

“So many people have done so many things for me that I could never repay them. It’s kind of like get a favor, give a favor. So I take pictures of you to repay people and hopefully you’ll pass it on. So that sometime you’ll do some kind of charity work that helps another group. And that’s why I do it,” said Mr. Thompson.

Mr. Thompson’s generosity leaves an amazing impact on the St. Dominic community. Next time he is on the sidelines, thank him for giving back!