Shine, The Best and Brightest

Since 1978, readers of The Detroit News have participated in nominating the Michiganians of the Year, a selection of outstanding citizens who helped make living in the state of Michigan a richer experience. They are selected either for their good works or for the example they set. There were 14 award winners who were chosen by the editors of The News. During the month of April 1997, I was assigned to shoot portraits of each winner. On this Web site are 10 of the 14 who were selected. I really enjoyed meeting and photographing all of these wonderful people and trying to make them "shine"
through these black and white photographs.

Heather Stone

Hailing from Kentucky, Heather Stone is a staff photographer for the Chicago Tribune. She has previously worked at The Detroit News and the Knoxville News-Sentinel. Her internships include The Washington Post and the Memphis Commercial Appeal. Heather has won numerous awards including third place in 1997 POY for a newspaper special section series. The project, titled Shine, The Best and the Brightest, is featured in this issue.