About

Hi! I’m Sharon Stark, Owner, Photo Organizing Consultant and Chief Scanner at Shoebox Photo Scans LLC. I’m all about preserving the value photos and family history bring to families, friends and society.

As the owner of Shoebox Photo Scans, I help people that are overwhelmed by their photo collections create safe, searchable and shareable ones so they can enjoy them more and stress about them less. Memories are created and captured so they can be remembered and enjoyed. I can help you rediscover and keep the “Joy” alive forever!

Family history and stories are being lost and forgotten. Our busy society and change in values has diminished the importance of knowing those who came before us. It’s all about “this moment” and self. My mission is to educate, inspire, empower and help you and your family preserve your photos, documents and written and oral histories—your legacy. A legacy that helps you gain a sense of identify with your family, culture, traditions, namesake, values, beliefs and heritage, and in a broader sense how you fit into the world around you.

It All Began…

When I searched for a local scanning business to preserve my family’s old photos and couldn’t find a suitable option. I didn’t want to mail my photos. Scanning them myself would have taken too long, plus I knew nothing about it so I was left with no options. I then researched starting my own business to help others in the same way I needed help–scanning, preserving and organizing family photos. I asked family and friends if they had the same needs. They did. So I studied, learned and practiced. I fell in love with the idea of helping families preserve their history and stories. I launched my business in 2013 and have scanned thousands of photos and helped clients experience the joy of having a well preserved, organized and shareable collection. Irreplaceable memories and family stories are the most important gift you can give yourself and future generations. I love being a part of that.

Discovering the lives of our ancestors is life-changing. It’s motivating. It’s empowering. Plus, it’s just fun!

It’s extremely difficult to keep up with all the changing technology, privacy issues, organizing options, social media sites and preservation methods related to photos. My goal is to help you stay updated on the most important issues and provide the simplest way to manage your ever growing photo collection.

A Little About Me (In case you’re curious)

I’ve been a real estate agent, a trainer and have written health insurance contracts. I self-published a book for consumers on health insurance, did numerous radio shows, a video interview on health insurance for “Special Reports Television” shown in doctor’s offices throughout the U.S., and was featured in magazines and newspapers such as Entrepreneur, Consumers Digest, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine, Modern Healthcare, Benefits Magazine, Reader’s Digest, The Kansas City Star, Jane Bryant Quinn’s Personal Finance column, and a book by Ralph Nader, Winning the Insurance Game. I also really enjoyed being a technical writer. I created user guides and manuals, instructions, FAQs, How-Tos, web content, marketing copy and banner ads for a large telecommunications company.

In my personal life I enjoy studying the Holy Bible, watching college basketball (go Kansas University Jayhawks!!), spending time with family and friends, visiting wineries, reading, working puzzles and traveling (especially cruises) and watching Hallmark Channel movies. My priorities are God, family and friends and work. Oh, and I do love donuts so when you drop off or pick up your scanning order feel free to bring along a donut or two. I’m just throwing that out there!

Donuts (It deserves its own heading)

My favorite food is donuts. I love donuts. I once attempted to write a book about the local donut shops, doing taste testings in the early morning hours each Saturday. It was fun reviewing and comparing the differences between the donut shops for the same type of donuts, for example, a traditional glazed and chocolate iced cake. Unfortunately, by the time I made the rounds to all of the shops some of them closed and new ones popped up. I realized it would be too difficult to keep the book up to date. Now this was back in the days before the Internet was used the way it is today. But I had fun trying all the donuts!