Photo of the Year 2009 is now history...

Photo of the Year 2009 is complete!

The Photo of the Year 2009 Awards Gala came off without a hitch on January 23rd. What, you weren't there? You should have been! It was a packed house at the Oregon Historical Society. Delicious food from Jamber's Catering was plentiful, drinks were flowing and great live music filled the air. The main attraction - your photos - were on display all evening.

By evening's end the votes had been counted and a winner chosen. Congratulations to Bryan Duevel - his spectacular photo of the Himalayas framed by prayer flags was voted Photo of the Year 2009!

Click here to see photos from the Award Gala on our Facebook page

POTY 2009 was a tremendously successful event! With your help we raised over $14,800 for the MESD Outdoor School - a POTY record! Here are some key statistics from this year's event:

• 1329 photos submitted across all categories
• 103 photos submitted to the Youth category
• Submissions came from the US, Canada, England, India, Qatar, Vietnam, Australia and more
• 278 photographers participated (a record)
• Over 1,400 people participated in the Online Voting (a record)
• Just shy of 20,000 visits to the web site between October and January (36% higher than last year)
• Over 850 new friends on Facebook
• Over $14,800 raised for the MESD Outdoor School

How do we do it? Because people like you choose to participate and support Photo of the Year. We could not do this without YOU. The POTY Board Members and everyone at the MESD Outdoor School are truly thankful for your participation and contributions!

We are also extremely thankful for the consistent support of our sponsors - their participation helps us maximize the donation of YOUR dollars to the MESD Outdoor School. Thank you sponsors!

That about does it for Photo of the Year 2009. We look forward to seeing your photos next Fall!