Winners of Heart & Soul Photo Contest Announced!

For Immediate Release

First Prize goes to Aki Blake and her photograph of the Kids’ Pasta Project at Scenic Mesa Ranch in Hotchkiss, Colorado. The Kids’ Pasta Project prepares and serves homemade pasta dinners and donates profits to local causes. Aki Blake is both a founding board member and a managing director of the Project. She lives in Hotchkiss with her husband and two children, who are also active in the Kids’ Pasta Project.

Second Prize goes to the Jay Heritage Center whose photograph, “Historic Preservation Can Be Green,” features 130 5th graders from the Davis School of New Rochelle standing on the front porch of the 1838 Jay House in Rye, New York. During their visit to the National Historic Landmark, students learned about American heritage, architecture, historic preservation, social justice and sustainable design. According to Jay Heritage Center staff, bright, young people like these are the heart and soul of their communities. To help foster this heart and soul, JHC aims to serve as an innovative classroom committed to responsible stewardship of the natural and manmade world.

Third Prize goes to Bill Revill and his photograph of the Durham Fair Horse Pull in Durham, Connecticut. The Durham Fair has been held every fall since 1916, rain or shine. The year this photo was taken—2008—was an exceptionally soggy one, and while a number of events had to be canceled, the horse pulls carried on. Bill Revill lives in Meriden, Connecticut and has been taking photos since elementary school. He also paints in his spare time.

The contest may be over, but it doesn’t have to end here: keep capturing the Heart & Soul of your community digitally or on film, and post your photos to Orton’s Flickr group to share with others. Or engage your neighbors and create some buzz by launching a similar contest in your town. Invite schools, church congregations, elected officials and assisted living communities to join in the fun. Because everyone—age, politics, profession and beliefs aside—can relate to what it means to belong to a place.

Thanks to everyone who participated in our first Heart & Soul Photo Contest. And don’t forget—all finalists will be showcased in the Heart & Soul gallery at the Foundation’s COMMUNITYMATTERS10 Conference in Denver, Colorado, October 5th through 8th, 2010. We’ll see you there!

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For More Information:
John Barstow, Director of Communications
Orton Family Foundation
PO Box 111 (152 Maple St., Suite 101)
Middlebury, VT 05753
802.388.6336
communications@orton.org
www.orton.org