LANSING — Sen. John Proos announced that Molly Pate, of Berrien Springs, won the senator’s Pure Michigan Summer Photo Contest.

“Congratulations to Molly Pate for her amazing winning photo of a sailboat on a calm Lake Michigan at sunset,” said Proos, R-St. Joseph. “Her inspiring photo will be on display in the Michigan Capitol for 2018 after receiving nearly 1,000 votes on Facebook and through an online poll.”

The top finishers in the photo contest were:

• First place — Molly Pate, of Berrien Springs, “Sunset Sail at South Haven Beach”

• Second place — Madeline Gordon, of Edwardsburg, “Sunflower Field”

• Third place — Randy Willis, of Benton Harbor, “Rainbow over Vineyard”

“The purpose of this photo contest was to give Southwest Michigan residents a way to showcase their artistic talents and capture the amazing outdoors and activities that make Michigan such an incredible place to live,” Proos said. “We had an unbelievable response, with more than 100 photos submitted. Thankfully, we had an outstanding judging panel that was able to choose 10 incredible finalists, and the people selected a beautiful image that truly illustrates summer in Michigan.”

The 10 finalist photos are available on the John Proos Supporters Page. Each finalist photo received one vote for each “like” it received on Facebook and one vote for each vote it garnered on a poll on Proos’ Senate website.

The finalist photos were also displayed in the district at the Carnegie Center for the Arts in Three Rivers and at the Box Factory for the Arts in St. Joseph.

Pate’s winning photo will receive a hanging ceremony in the Michigan Capitol after the New Year.