Wonders Takes A Top Honor Again; Nugent, Voth Double Winners

Calendar, Gallery Show To Feature Some Of The 119 Entries Submitted 

NEWTON, Kansas – Photographer Shelly Wonders won a first-place honor for the second straight year in the Best of Newton Photo Contest, and Wendy Nugent was awarded first and third place in the Outdoor Recreation Category.

Michelle Voth also was a two-award winner with the second-place photos in both the Open Category and Outdoor Recreation.

This year’s judging panel, which included a professional photographer, considered 119 images from more than two dozen photographers. The contest annually features an Open Category and a featured category, which this year was Outdoor Recreation. Photographs were judged based on the quality of the images, technical merit, creativity, subject matter as it relates to Newton, and the appeal of the images to potential visitors.

Wonders, who won the feature category of Downtown Newton last year, topped the Open Category this year with “Fall on the Rails,” an image featuring a train traveling through Newton. The image also will be featured in the 2024 Best of Newton calendar as the cover image.

There were 77 entries in the Open Category. Voth had the runner-up photo, “Golden Hour.” Everett Sauerwein’s “Branch Manager” was the third choice; and Ashleigh Lakey’s “Blue Skies” was the honorable mention.

Nugent’s photo “At the Splash Park” was the top choice in the Outdoor Recreation category, while her “Tug of War” from the County Fair placed third. Voth’s “Kansas Day Rope Making Demo” photo placed second, and Brandy Welsch’s “Magical at Camp Hawk” was the honorable mention.

Winners receive prizes of $100, $75 and $50 for the top three spots and $25 for honorable mention.

Thirteen entries were chosen for the Best of Newton 2024 calendar, which will be available at various locations after Thanksgiving and during the Five Places of Christmas. Calendars will be available throughout the holiday season while supplies last at Newton City Hall, the Newton Area Chamber of Commerce, Prairy Market & Deli, Norm’s Coffee Bar, and Carriage Factory Art Gallery, among other locations.

Photos by Wonders, Nugent, Voth, Welsch, Sauerwein, Lakey, Erica Anderson, Beth Hostetler, Danielle Pierce, and Kelly Nachtigal will appear in the calendar.

In addition, some contest entries will be selected for an exhibit at Carriage Factory Art Gallery that will begin on Saturday, January 6.

All photographs that did not win prizes in the judging are eligible for $10 in Chamber Checks through online voting on the Choose Newton Facebook page. Voting will begin soon and will be open through November 30. Everyone is welcome to cast their ballots by hitting like on any of the entries. The three photographs with the most likes will receive awards.