First Place, Portrait Personality - Meg Vogel / The Cincinnati Enquirer, “Ballet Moves”Ava Katz, 9, sits in a patch of sun and watches her reflection move in the mirror during her Ballet Moves class on February 16, 2019 at the Cincinnati Ballet in the West End. Ava has Down syndrome. She has been part of the class for five years. Ballet has helped strengthen her core, which helps language skills.
Second Place, Portrait Personality - Kyle Robertson / The Columbus Dispatch, “Grad”At age 74, graduating Columbus College of Art and Design student Susanne Dotson poses for a photo in front of her art work at Beeler Gallery in Columbus on April 8, 2019. Susanne will graduate with a Masters of Fine Arts from CCAD in May, and this month, her quilt-like paintings that are meant to mix farm and fashion are on exhibit at Beeler Gallery. “This is really like a visual memoir of who I am,” she said.
Third Place, Portrait Personality - Fred Squillante / Columbus Dispatch, “I Look Beautiful Bald”Norah Gruzs, 7, sheds tears after getting her head shaved at Fado Irish Pub to raise money for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation for research to help combat childhood cancers. Norah and her mom, Molly, raised $12,000 together. Molly Gruzs said it was all Norah’s idea to get involved in the head-shaving fundraiser, to remember a boy who had attended Norah’s preschool and died of cancer about five years ago.
Award of Excellence, Portrait Personality - Lisa DeJong / The Plain Dealer, “Come Home”Elizabeth Perez, 40, is raising her four children by herself without her husband Marcos Perez, who was deported back to Mexico in 2010. Perez and her family is the subject of the upcoming PBS documentary "Marcos Doesn't Live Here Anymore". Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the Trump administration has tightened up regulations, making deportation even faster. Elizabeth Perez, a marine veteran, believes that the entire immigration handbook needs to be rewritten.
Award of Excellence, Portrait Personality - Matthew Hatcher / Freelance, “Kikita”Kikita, a 4th year primary school student, poses for a portrait in one of the unused classrooms at the school in Troit'ske, Ukraine on February 28, 2019. Troit'ske is a village in the Donbass region of Ukraine on the frontlines of the Donbas War. Frequent shelling and sporadic firefights around the village often keep students from socializing and attending school. Studies have shown that children living in villages on the frontlines of the war have a high rate of psychological disorders such as anxiety and depression.
Award of Excellence, Portrait Personality - Andy Morrison / The Blade, “Sheriff Held”Lucas County Sheriff's Deputy Alan Gaston at the office of his attorney Chad Tuschan, July 16, 2019. Deputy Gaston said he feared for his life after a security guard, Seth Eklund, pulled a gun on him as he visited an IRS office while in uniform. The security officer told him he couldn't have his service weapon on him while in the office. When Deputy Gaston tried to leave the building the security guard followed him out and held him at gunpoint. Deputy Gaston has filed a civil lawsuit against the security guard and his company.
Award of Excellence, Portrait Personality - Meg Vogel / Kaiser Health News, “LeRon”Marine Corps veteran LeRon Davis holds his daughter Ahnalia, 2, in their apartment in Mt. Airy on November 21, 2019. Davis, 30, is now six months sober. He is working at Saint Vincent de Paul but says that it's not enough. Davis is trying to find a better way to support his family of six. He dreams of creating a better life for his children.
