Kimball Electronics Gives (KEG), the employee-giving circle of Kimball Electronics Inc., announced the winners of its 2021 Nature Photography Contest during a virtual awards ceremony on Earth Day (April 22).
The contest, which ran throughout March, was open to Kimball Electronics employees and the general public. Submissions included original photos from such global locales as Iceland, Thailand, Germany, Brazil, Singapore, Poland, Ontario, and China, as well as several states in the U.S.
Twenty-five percent of the money raised per category is being donated to worthy causes selected by first-place winners. Charities selected included Community Food Bank (Jasper, Ind.), Girls on the Run of Southwest Indiana (Jasper, Ind.), and Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve (Evansville, Ind.).
The remaining 75% raised during the contest will be donated to various charities during KEG’s Fall Granting Event. In the past three years, the giving circle has donated $22,500 to worthy causes in Dubois County and in communities where employees work remotely.
“We were wowed by the quality of the photos submitted from around the world. The judges had their work cut out for them. There were so many high-quality photos capturing the spirit of nature that we wish they all could’ve at least been selected for the honorable mention list, ” says contest coordinator Scott Saalman. “What was unique about this fundraiser was not only did it help raise money for worthy causes, but it also focused on the environment. One of our company’s Guiding Principles states, ‘The environment is our home.’ Every day, Kimball Electronics strives to live up its purpose of Creating Quality for Life for our communities through our positive societal and environmental impacts.”
Primary judges were Ocean Geographic Science Editor Alex Rose (grand-prize winner of last year’s National Wildlife Federation’s Nature Photography Contest); landscape artist Abby Laux; and KEG member Patrick Prondzinski.
Age 5-11
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- Honorable Mention: Will Zimmerman, Sophie Zimmerman, Olivia Habig
- Third Place: Cooper Golden
- Second Place: Leah Mattingly
- First Place: Helen He (Helen, of China, will donate her winnings to a charity in Nanjing.)
Age 12-14
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- Honorable Mention: Tonia Mouline, Hannah Shulz, Keenan Bieker
- Third Place: Karson Bieker
- Second Place: Danika Kiefer
- First Place: Natasza Ludwiczak (Natasza, of Poland, donated her winnings to Girls on the Run of Southwest Indiana.)
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Natasza Ludwiczak
Age 15-18
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- Honorable Mention: Megan Rydberg, Sydney Waddell, Magda Alvis
- Third Place: Kierstin Woehler
- Second Place: Magda Alvis
- First Place: Magda Alvis (at the time of this release, Magda, of Ferdinand, has yet to determine her worthy cause of choice.)
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Magda Alvis
Adult (Non-Kimball Employee)
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- Honorable Mention: Jeremy Ross, Barbara Keusch, Richard Sager, Adam Sanford, Jeff Wagner, Marcus Copetti
- Third Place: Barbara Keusch
- Second Place: Andrew Layer
- First Place: James Patterson (James, of Jasper, donated his winnings to Community Food Bank.)
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James Patterson
Kimball Electronics Employee
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- Honorable Mention: Yan Qiu Gao, Tomasz Ławniczak, Lance Lucas, Jacek Szulc, Tomasz Szmyt, John Henry Gonzales, Erin Meng, Melissa Maniquiz
- Third Place: Angelo Pacumio
- Second Place: Lance Lucas
- First Place: Jeremy Earles (Jeremy, of Evansville, donated his winnings to Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve.)
Kimball Electronics Employees’ Choice Awards (Kimball Electronics employees donated money to vote on their favorite coworker photos):
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- Fifth place: Melissa Maniquiz
- Fourth place: Jeremy Earles
- Third place: Fangtin Liu
- Second place: Lance Lucas
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- First place: Yan Qiu Gao
