Jonesboro, AR — (JonesboroRightNow.com) — June 19, 2025 — Leadership Jonesboro’s new “Capture NEA: Northeast Arkansas Photography Contest” aims to show the best of NEA through stunning visuals and promote local talent.

The competition is hosted through the Jonesboro Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Jonesboro program, a nine-month program with about 30 students from different NEA companies per class.

“The goal of the competition is really just to crowdsource some nice, high-quality images of Northeast Arkansas and get a database full of these images to share with some of the marketing agencies in Northeast Arkansas so they can use these photos on their website search for marketing material. Then hopefully that’ll improve the SEO [Search Engine Optimization, which means optimizing an online presence across all potential search channels] for Northeast Arkansas and get rid of some of those ‘not so beautiful pictures’ that we have showing up whenever you Google it,” said Leadership Jonesboro Class of 2025 member Cole Miller.

“It’s hard for people to understand that we have a beautiful region whenever they’re searching for Northeast Arkansas, but don’t get to see all that beauty,” he added. “We started the project about a month ago, when we started discussing everything and building the website and social media material.”

While this is the first year for the contest, Miller said he hopes it will become an annual event.

Top photographers will receive prizes, recognition, and a chance to be showcased in city campaigns.

Judges for this year’s Capture NEA photography contest will be Mayor Harold Copenhaver, Arkansas State University Department of Art & Design Chair Dr. Katherine Baker, and retired art and photography teacher Donna Beth Pierson.

Winning photos will be featured on local websites, publications in city campaigns to showcase NEA.

The four categories are:

  • Landscapes and Nature, such as rivers, trails, parks, scenic views, and wildlife.
  • City and Architecture, such as historic buildings, downtown scenes, and modern landmarks.
  • Community and Culture, such as local events, festivals, and daily life.
  • Food and Beverage, such as local dining, markets, and culinary culture.

The grand prize winner will earn $500 to the best overall photo. Category winners will receive $100 and be featured in official NEA marketing campaigns. Honorable mentions will also be highlighted on social media and partner websites. Miller said the winners will be displayed during the Leadership Jonesboro graduation ceremony on Aug. 1.

“We actually have about 75 submissions right now, so we’re doing really good for the first year,” Miller said. “But we still have about 11 days left and I’m sure it’ll probably pick up at the end too.”

The deadline for submissions is June 30, with winners to be announced on social media via the Capture NEA Facebook page July 15.

To enter, click here. Capture NEA recommends that images be high-quality. Photo file names should include your last name, title of your location and image description.

For more information, visit the Capture NEA: Northeast Arkansas Photography Contest website or email info@capturenea.com.