<p>
	We&#39;re happy to announce the winners from the first ever <em>Friends of Au Sable</em> photo contest! If you&#39;re unfamiliar with&nbsp;<em>Friends</em>, it&#39;s a group of Au Sable alumni and supporters who give their time, energy, and financial support to help Au Sable further its mission. We are currently looking for people to serve on the <em>Friends</em> advisory board, so if you&#39;re interested, please contact Dieter for more information (dbouma@ausable.org).</p>
<p>
	We hope that you had as much fun with the <em>Friends&nbsp;of Au Sable</em> Photo Contest as we did! These beautiful pictures poured in throughout the week, and it was exciting to see the flurry of participation -- through votes, reminiscences, exclamations, and jokes. It reminded us how unique and special the Au Sable experience can be: the opportunity to learn about God&#39;s world around us, see beautiful wildlife and landscapes, and live in community together. <strong>Thanks to all of you who submitted pictures and brought us back to our own Au Sable experiences!</strong></p>
<p>
	While we were overwhelmed by the number of beautiful photos and talented photographers, we&#39;re pleased to announce our winners. A panel of artistic, Au Sable alumni made up of <a href="http://www.christisobel.com/">Christi Sobel</a>, <a href="http://www.laurelsprengercards.com/">Laurel Sprenger</a>, and Megan Stitzel selected our grand prize winner and honorable mentions. The winners for each category were selected by you, the wider Au Sable community. Winners will get to choose from our list of <a href="http://ausablephotocontest.weebly.com/prizes.html">staff-inspired prizes</a>. &nbsp;You can view all of our photos on our <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Au-Sable-Institute-of-Environmental-Studies/45780179394">facebook page</a>.</p>
<p>
	Without further ado, here are the winners and honorable mentions:</p>
<h2>
	<span style="color: rgb(128, 0, 0); ">Grand Prize Winner</span></h2>
<p>
	<img alt="Spring Peeper" src="{filedir_5}Collin-Whitsett-2-field.jpg" style="width: 640px; height: 426px; " /></p>
<p>
	&quot;Spring Peeper,&quot; Collin Whitsett (Great Lakes Campus, SSII 2009)</p>
<hr />
<h2>
	&nbsp;</h2>
<h2>
	<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(128, 0, 0); ">Runner-Up</span></h2>
<p>
	<img alt="Mount Rainier" src="{filedir_5}Amber-Unger-2-field.JPG" style="width: 550px; height: 733px; " /></p>
<p>
	&quot;Mount Rainier,&quot; Amber Unger (Pacific Rim, July 2010)</p>
<hr />
<h2>
	&nbsp;</h2>
<h2>
	<span style="color: rgb(128, 0, 0); ">Runner-Up</span></h2>
<p>
	<img alt="Students Jumping at Sleeping Bear Dunes" src="{filedir_5}Collin-Whitsett-8-community.jpg" style="width: 640px; height: 426px; " /></p>
<p>
	&quot;Dune Jumping,&quot; Collin Whitsett (Sleeping Bear Dunes, SSI 2011)</p>
<hr />
<h2>
	&nbsp;</h2>
<h2>
	<span style="color: rgb(128, 0, 0); ">Field Category Winner</span></h2>
<p>
	<img alt="Big Twin Sunset" src="{filedir_5}Amber-Yike-1-field.jpg" style="width: 640px; height: 480px; " /></p>
<p>
	&quot;Big Twin Lake, Sunset,&quot; Amber Yike (Great Lakes Campus, May 2010)</p>
<hr />
<h2>
	&nbsp;</h2>
<h2>
	<span style="color: rgb(128, 0, 0); ">Community Category Winner</span></h2>
<p>
	<img alt="Whidbey Island Barracks" src="{filedir_5}Dannielle-Favela-1-Community _Whidbey Island.JPG" style="width: 640px; height: 436px; " /></p>
<p>
	&quot;Whidbey Island Barracks,&quot; Dannielle Favela (Pacific Rim, Summer 2007)</p>
<hr />
<h2>
	&nbsp;</h2>
<h2>
	<span style="color: rgb(128, 0, 0); ">Place Category Winner</span></h2>
<p>
	<img alt="Mount Pilchuck" src="{filedir_5}Christy-Goulet-1-place.JPG" style="width: 640px; height: 960px; " /></p>
<p>
	&quot;Mount Pilchuck,&quot; Christy Goulet (Pacific Rim, SSI 2010)</p>
<hr />
<h2>
	&nbsp;</h2>
<h2>
	<span style="color: rgb(128, 0, 0); ">Honorable Mentions</span></h2>
<p>
	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}Ashley-Free6_campus_summer_1_2007-community.jpg" style="width: 459px; height: 604px;" /></p>
<hr />
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}Collin-Whitsett-4-field.jpg" style="width: 426px; height: 640px; " /></p>
<hr />
<p>
	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}Adan-Bretschneider-4-field.jpg" style="width: 640px; height: 853px; " /></p>
<hr />
<p>
	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}christy-goulet-2-field1.JPG" style="width: 550px; height: 825px; " /></p>
<hr />
<p>
	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}Hannah-Boughton-2-Low Tide.png" style="width: 552px; height: 370px; " /></p>
<hr />
<p>
	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}Jacob-Eldridge-1-field.jpg" style="width: 640px; height: 427px; " /></p>
<hr />
<p>
	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}Marjie-Tobias-2-field.JPG" style="width: 640px; height: 480px; " /></p>
<hr />
<p>
	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}Ashley-Free4_campus_summer_1_2007-field.jpg" style="width: 604px; height: 459px; " /><br />
	&nbsp;</p>
