City Photo Contest Results: 15 Days in May!

The prize winners in the 2008 “15 Days in May” photo contest were announced by the West Sacramento City Council, Wednesday, June 11, 2008. West Sacramento’s Betty Mitchell was the only repeat winner from a previous year. After placing third in 2004, Betty took first place in the Residents Over 55 category in 2008. Each first place winner this year earned $1,000; second place winners received $500; and third place winners took home $250. However, one winner in 2008, won in two categories: Elijah Dove of West Sacramento placed first in Residents Under 18 and third place in the Mayor’s Image of Health category, open for the first time this year. The Image of Health invited contestants to enter photos of health and fitness in West Sacramento. The amateur-level photographers were provided the option of entering the Image of Health and one other category based on residency, nonresidency or working in West Sacramento. As a result, the contest received 682 entries in 2008, the highest participation in the 10 year history of the Days in May competition. The number of entries exceeded the contest’s previous high in 2003 by 40 percent!

All photos entered needed to be taken in West Sacramento between the dates of May 1 and May 15, 2008.

An independent team of judges met in late May to determine the top 3 in each category. Judges votes were also used to decide three “honorable mention” winners: West Sacramento residents who received three month memberships to “15th Street Fitness” in West Sacramento. Judges represented the Sacramento Bee, Sacramento Magazine, CBS 13/CW 31, Raley’s, the Woodland Camera Club, Tom Myers Photography, and the West Sacramento Commission on Arts, Culture and Historic Preservation.

The contest was sponsored by the city of West Sacramento, Carwen Printers, the News-Ledger, the West Sacramento Press, and 15th Street Fitness.

The Mayor’s Image of Health winners were Scott Schaffner, Sacramento, first place; Charles Bates, West Sacramento, second place; and Elijah Dove, West Sacramento, third place. Honorable mention winners of 3-month memberships to “15th Street Fitness” were Lea Adams, Danil Kozin, and Viktoriya Neverov, each from West Sacramento.

The winners in the “Under 18” category for West Sacramento residents: Elijah Dove, first place; Liza Smirnova, second place; and Alek Penkov, third place. Elijah was the only winner in two separate categories this year (he was also third place in the “Image of Health” category).

Winners in the “18-55” category for local residents: Jacqueline Peigare, first place; Lai Saeteurn, second place; and Erich Kloetzer, third place. In the “Over 55” category of West Sacramento residents: Betty Mitchell, first place; Charlotte Dorsey, second place; and Andrew Clausen, third place. Betty was also a third place photo contest winner in 2003.

The contest was also open to nonresidents. The nonresident winners: Ben Pacificar, Elk Grove, first place; Robyn Flynn, Sacramento, second place; and Al Baker, Sacramento, third place.

“Working in West Sacramento” category: Linnea Wong, Design/Design with Fire, first place; Christina Harvey, California Dept. of General Services, second place; and Tim Kwong, State Farm Insurance, third place.

The city of West Sacramento thanks all the photographers and their friends who participated in West Sacramento’s annual photo contest!