First place, Portrait Personality - Phil Long / FreelanceCato "Smitty" Smith, 96, is shown at his small grocery in Akron, with his wife Nola, 86. Smitty was being forced to close his grocery because the building owner went bankrupt.
Second place, Portrait Personality - Gus Chan / The Plain DealerGwyneth Neitenbach, 15 months, holds a bouquet of yarrow picked by her mother, Pamela, on the family farm. The Neitenbach's run Neitenbach Farm, a Countryside Conservancy farm in the Cuyahoga Valley. The farm specializes in vegetables and medicinal herbs. The flowers will be used for a yarrow tincture, which has many medicinal properties.
Third place, Portrait Personality - Eamon Queeney / The Columbus DispatchLuther Henson leans on his 1964 Chevy Impala Super Sport as he poses for a photograph in the driveway of his North Side Columbus home. This Impala and a 1969 Chevy Chevelle Super Sport were stolen from his garage as well as other items that counted together were worth hundreds of thousands.
Award of Excellence, Portrait Personality - Eric Albrecht / The Columbus DispatchMia Stephany, 13, has a anxiety disorder, that includes a reluctance to go outside at times but with support from doctors and her family she is managing her anxiety.
Award of Excellence, Portrait Personality - Lynn Ischay / The Plain DealerMorris Finney Jr. wipes away tears as he listens to "God Bless America" at Beachwood Cemetery at 11am, November 11th, 2012. Finney, 89, served in the Army and fought in New Guinea, the Phiippines and Japan during WWII. He has been a resident of Beachwood for 56 years, and this year the city held its very first Veterans Day ceremony at the cemetery.
Award of Excellence, Portrait Personality - Lisa DeJong / The Plain DealerMatt Bogard, 18, a senior at Westlake High School, is a fencer at the Hooked on Fencing club. Bogard, who has competed in competitions as far as Finland and Sweden, has Olympic aspirations. Next year he will be competing at Ohio State on a full-ride scholarship.
