City officials on Nov. 20 recognized local photographers chosen for the City of Sunny Isles Beach’s 2026 desktop calendar and presented awards to middle-school winners of a Florida City Week essay contest.

A city staff member said residents and visitors submitted entries from 16 photographers for the calendar; the cover photo was credited to Moses Phan. The staff member also thanked Elvira Gattina, the city’s graphic designer, and Vanessa Vieira for organizing the contest and producing the printed calendars that were made available to attendees.

Myra Aleman, the city’s chief of staff, introduced winners of the Florida City Week writing contest for sixth- through eighth-graders and congratulated students for their creativity. Aleman named Elizaveta Chirikova, Dimitri Sampio, Isabella Sanchez Garcia and India Sherekov among the top essays and encouraged continued civic engagement: “The competition was very close, but today, we are proud to recognize our winners,” she said.

Commissioners read short excerpts from the essays during the presentation and praised the students’ descriptions of safety, community events and the city’s multicultural character. One commissioner observed that many essays highlighted the police department as part of the community fabric and said the entries reflect how students see Sunny Isles Beach.

The awards and calendar distribution were ceremonial items; no formal actions or policy changes were associated with the presentations. Calendars were available in chambers and included in attendee gift bags.