Tree-Mendous Competition recently issued the following announcement.
Christmas is around the corner and to spread a little holiday merriment, the City of Gainesville is hosting its second annual Gainesville Administration Building Christmas Tree Decorating Contest.
Departments located in the admin building have each decorated a tree, all of which are on display at the south entrance, which opens onto the first-floor Gainesville Visitor Center. This year, the Gainesville Human Resources Department will try to defend their title of winner of the inaugural contest, for which they received bragging rights and an inscribed trophy.
The idea to display the trees for visitors’ and City staff’s enjoyment was that of Assistant City Manager Angela Sheppard.
“We learned early on during the inaugural contest that the trees are well loved, not only by City employees and their families, but by those who come in seeking information about the City, to conduct general business – even those who stop in this time of year to renew business licenses and pay property taxes,” she said. “It’s especially exciting to see people’s faces light up who knew nothing about them beforehand – for them to walk in and be greeted by these wonderfully decorated trees that City staff imagined and executed themselves. It’s that kind of reaction, to me, that keeps the holiday spirit alive. We love seeing visitors stop to get a closer look at the ornaments, photograph the trees, etc. It’s a special thing for a government building, even if only for a few weeks, to be able to spread that kind of holiday magic.”
Current themes include Candy Land, Winter Wonderland, Santa’s Workshop, The Candy Shoppe, The Polar Express, Home for the Holidays and The Coop.
Now that the trees are decorated, the City is relying on visitors to help pick the winner. Voting is underway online and in person now through noon Wednesday, Dec. 22. In observance of the Christmas holiday, City administrative offices will be closed Thursday, Dec. 23-Friday, Dec. 24.
“Voting boxes are located on tables positioned at both ends of the hallway, where you’ll also find paper and pens,” Sheppard said. “Each tree is numbered 1-7, as confirmed by the number featured at each tree. Write down the number of your favorite tree and ‘cast’ your vote by placing it in the box. If you’re unsure of the tree’s number, we’ll allow a detailed description.”
You may also cast votes via the @GainesvilleGeorgiaGovernment Facebook page by locating the "2nd Annual Gainesville Administration Building Christmas Tree Decorating Contest" event, pinned to the top of the page, which features a photo album of decorated trees in the discussion. “Like” your favorites and/or comment on the post the numbers that correspond to your top picks.
Come the week of Christmas, the tree with the most votes wins! Votes will be tallied at 3 p.m. Dec. 22 and the winner announced directly after via Facebook.
The admin building is open from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, excluding holidays. While voting ends the Wednesday before Christmas, the trees will remain up until Friday, Jan. 7, 2022.
Original source can be found here.
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