The photos, submitted during the year-long contest were assessed by three local judges: Washtenaw County Commissioner Barbara Levin Bergman – an accomplished photographer in her own right; Don Werthmann, a full-time faculty member in the Visual Arts Technology Department at Washtenaw Community College and Ray Berg, a local community web master and rural historian.

The County will host a reception for Finalists and the top five "Judges' Choice" award winners on July 18th at the County Library.  Local municipal leaders from the jurisdictions featured in the photos will also be on hand to receive a framed copy of the winning photo of a landmark in their community.  The photographers of those top five photos will also receive a professionally framed copy of their photo.

"This was something new for us. A group of our employees had been talking about civic pride and how the County had such diverse symbols of that pride in our many cities, townships and villages. This contest was a way to invite citizens to take pictures of some of our local landmarks and send them to us for publication and, now, celebration. It’s really been fun,” said Linda Wicks, one of the coordinators of the project.

All twenty of the Finalist photos will be on display at the County’s Library Learning Resource Center, 4135 Washtenaw in Pittsfield Township later this summer. The photos feature sights in Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor Township, Chelsea, Manchester, Salem, Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township.