2019 Photo Contest Winners

The 2019 Photo Contest has concluded, and we couldn’t be more pleased with the results. With nearly 300 eligible submissions showing off all the wonderful things Shawnee has to offer, our panel of voters had a hard time picking their favorites. At the end of the day, however, the photos below were judged to be the best of the best. Read on to see the winners, and learn a little information about them.

Our Grand Prize Winner was Caleb Winsett with this sunrise over Shawnee Milling Company! The mill began in 1906 as the family business of J. Lloyd Ford, and ever since the mills have had a prominent place in downtown Shawnee’s skyline. Shawnee Mills products are widely available in the state of Oklahoma, as well as in the 10-state area around it. The mill is emblematic of our city; the beautiful sunrises, too!

The Blue Ribbon Photo was taken by Trey DeLonais over the Fireflight Balloon Festival. The festival, which began only a few years ago, is quickly becoming one of our city’s most popular annual events. Hosted by the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, the event brings balloon rides, live entertainment, vendors and food trucks. 2019’s own FireFlight festival is scheduled for August 9-10th.

The Red Ribbon went to Jesse Monday's creative photo showing both Old and New of Shawnee's Downtown. Our city’s Main Street has been undergoing development over the last several years, and while Shawnee might have looked entirely different a hundred years ago, the short-term growth of prosperity in our community has us filled with excitement for the future.

The Life in Shawnee winner shows the smiles on this group's faces at the Fireflight Balloon Festival taken by Garett Fisbeck. The category was meant to show off the community of Shawnee in some regard, and this was the favorite pick of the bunch featuring people.

Fan Vote was chosen by the people of Facebook, and they picked this image over Tecumseh Lake taken by Scott Hawkins. Every Sunday, we post on our social media profiles a new sunrise or sunset; the contest provided us with plenty of incredible photographs showing off Shawnee’s big and beautiful horizon. It’s hardly a surprise that a sunset took the most votes!

Well, what do you think? We found submissions to the 2019 Photo Contest did not disappoint, and we’re looking forward to the next opportunity we’ll have to showcase community photography. If you haven’t seen the rest of the submissions, check out the album on Facebook here.