Our Community photo competition winners announced

ELCAP has announced the winners of the 2021 Our Community photo competition.

For the second year in a row, Lorraine Birtley and Patsy Dugdale came out tops in a contest which attracted over 50 entries.  The winning photo shows Patsy having the best of times at a popular East Lothian tourist attraction.

Reflecting on their success, Lorraine, a Support Practitioner in Haddington, said:

“Patsy loves to get out and about and one of our favourite places is East Links Family Park, where she has a membership.

I have always taken photos.  Family, friends and staff like to see what Patsy has been doing and it’s good to display photos for Patsy to look at.

It was a nice unexpected surprise to win the competition.”

Second prize went to Andrew Swan and Nigel Whitmore.  Nigel’s photo shows Andrew living for the moment at the summit of North Berwick Law.

John Scott, Lewis Scott and Ryan Williams took third prize in this year’s event.  John’s photo shows Lewis and Ryan keeping their town tidy as part of Tranent Wombles

A panel of three judges had the difficult task of choosing the winners.  Kim Williams, Editor of East Lothian Life, said:

“I was absolutely honoured to be asked to judge the ELCAP photo competition for 2021. All of the photos struck a chord and resonated with me, and it was very hard to stick to the brief and select my favourites, as there were far too many excellent photos!

The winning shot, we all agreed on, so this one was easy! This photo made me laugh out loud – I was not sure who was having more fun, the llama or Patsy! The look on the llama’s face is priceless.

In second place was the photo of Andrew.  This photo is excellent and the monument perfectly sums up Andrew as an active and valued member of the community, with the words “live for the moment”.  Along with the iconic view of East Lothian, this is a worthy second prize winner.

In third place, Lewis and Ryan are certainly active and values members of the community.  What a great job they’re doing, and what a great shot.  I loved it.”

Joining Kim on the judging panel were Councillor Jim Goodfellow, Cabinet Spokesperson for Housing and Community Wellbeing at East Lothian Council and David McLaren, a Vice Chair of ELCAP’s Executive Board.

The competition winners each received an East Lothian Gift Card, with Lorraine and Patsy receiving cards worth £100.00.  The gift cards can be used in over 130 independent local businesses in the county.

Welcoming the success of the competition, ELCAP Chief Executive, Paul White, said:

“Our community is at the heart of everything ELCAP does.  With that in mind, we asked our Support Practitioners and the individuals they work with to think about the activities, people and places in East Lothian and Midlothian that are important to them.

We then asked our staff to take a photo of an individual they support doing something they enjoy in our community.  We stressed there was no need to arrange something special – we are more interested in the everyday things that matter to people.  No-one had to be a brilliant photographer to take part.  The emotional response the photos generate is more important than technical ability.

Congratulations to our winners and to everyone who entered in our competition.  And special thanks to our team of judges, who gave their time freely to support our event.”