By: Dean Vaglia | Macomb Chronicle | Published September 30, 2025
MACOMB TOWNSHIP — All you need is the right moment.
On Sept. 10, the three winners of Macomb Township’s 2025 Summer Photo Contest were announced and recognized at the township Board of Trustees meeting. Albert Krakosky came in third place, Morgan Pankiewicz took second place, and Carol Muklewicz won first place in the contest.
“It was fun to participate in (the contest) and it was really fun to win,” Muklewicz said. “I was surprised to win first place, so we were excited!”
With no photography background and only a Samsung cellphone to work with, Muklewicz shot her contest submission after forgetting about the contest until the deadline approached.
“I had that flyer — I don’t know if it came with my taxes or came with my water bill — that said how you can apply for that picture on my desk when I was working,” Muklewicz said. “I never paid attention to it, and then it was the last day and I’m like, ‘I want to submit a picture,’ so it was kind of cool to win.”
A step outside led to a moment of serendipity when Ranger, a 5-year-old black Labrador retriever, curiously sniffed a daisy.
“We adopted Ranger when he was almost 2 from the Leader Dogs,” Muklewicz said. “He was what they call a career change dog, but we call him a dropout. He didn’t make the grade with Leader Dogs for little things. He’s a really good dog — full of energy and doesn’t settle down, but he’s a good dog.”
Muklewicz and Ranger took the top spot against a total of 41 submissions. Township Supervisor Frank Viviano is hoping to get even more community members involved next time around.
“We would love an even bigger turnout,” Viviano said. “It would be great to have hundreds of submissions to choose from. I think our outreach is consistent with the first two efforts, and we’ll continue to try to do a better job to make it public now that we have a township magazine that we are publishing on a regular basis. That kind of information, we can include and get out into the public.”
Photo contest judging was first handled by members of the Macomb Township Board of Trustees, who made their picks for the top 10 photos of the bunch. Board members then turned the photos over to the community to decide the winners via an online poll.
“From the feedback I get from my fellow board members, we really enjoy seeing little vignettes of the township through our residents’ eyes,” Viviano said. “You look at all these little images, and it takes us out into the community and helps us share what they experience.”
Macomb Township has now hosted three photo contests with plans for a fourth in the works. Viviano says it is expected to be held in January with more information being announced at that time.
For her part, Muklewicz says she’s going to stay out of the next contest to keep the field clear for new winners, at least for the next time around.
“Because of the fact that I’m winning, I don’t want to be a greedy hog person,” Muklewicz said. “I certainly maybe (will participate again) later down the road.”