You’ve seen her everywhere the past few weeks. State wrestling. Scholars Bowl. Powerlifting. Band. Basketball. And now she wants to see you.
The Eudora Times is hosting a community reception from 5:30-8 p.m. March 23 at the former quilt store building in honor of chief photographer Annalynn Phanthadeth.
She has captured thousands of photos around the community the past few years and has selected some of her favorites to display.
“It was actually really hard to narrow it down,” Phanthadeth said. “There are so many moments from the past few years that meant a lot to me, so I tried to choose photos that really represent Eudora.”
The free event will include a gallery of 60 of her photos that will also be available to bid on as part of a silent auction. The auction will be open between 5:30-7:30 p.m. Times staff will then text or call the winners to return before 8 p.m. to pay via check.
While shooting sports is her favorite, the gallery includes photos of other community moments as well.
“Sports are definitely my favorite because there’s so much emotion and movement,” Phanthadeth said. “But some of my favorite photos come from the quieter moments at community events where you see people just enjoying being together.”
Here are two of the images the gallery will include:
Attendees will also receive ballots to vote for the People’s Choice Award, or their favorite photo on display that Phanthadeth has shot. Another contest will let attendees guess how many photos she has shot in the community since November 2023.
The event will also include a postcard booth sponsored by the Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri. Postcards will feature Times photography and are free.
Attendees should bring the address of someone from out of state and fill out the postcard at the booth letting them know to read The Eudora Times to catch up on hometown news.
“We’ve been around for seven years now, but know there are a lot of Eudora alumni who live elsewhere who don’t know there is a local newspaper,” Publisher Teri Finneman said. “We want them to know there’s a place to get hometown news.”
The postcard booth is part of a national experiment that could be replicated by other newspapers around the country.
“This is just a fun casual event to celebrate the community and the capturing of key moments in time of the community’s story,” Finneman said. “Annalynn has worked countless hours of service to Eudora, so we wanted to recognize her ahead of her graduation from KU in May.”
Snacks from Zeb’s will be provided during the event, which is also sponsored by Farmers State Bank and the school district.
Library Board members will also be on site to answer questions about their vision for the building, which will eventually become the new library.
“I’ve spent a lot of time running between games, concerts and other events trying to capture as many moments as possible,” Phanthadeth said. “A lot of those moments happen quickly, and people might not even realize someone is documenting them. It’s really special to be able to bring those memories together and share them with the community.”
