Winners have been announced in the Experience a Columbia Christmas home decorating contest and have received prizes courtesy of a local retailer.
“This contest was specific for home decorating,” Columbia Walmart Supercenter Manager Mike Lowery said. “People entered the contest from all over the county. My wife and I judged the contest, and we went out and looked. People submitted entries from all over the county.”
Charlie Conerly’s decorations in the Bunker Hill area took top honors, winning him a flat screen TV courtesy of the local retailer. Conerly has put thousands of lights up every year around his property for decades. Second place went to the home of Kim and Paula Ramshur of Lakeview, who are best known for their collection of hundreds of Santa Clauses and third place went to Susan Lirette of North Park Avenue in Columbia.
“The whole contest was about bringing the community together,” Lowery said. “It was about families being able to drive around and show their children the lights. It benefits the community and the children. You can enjoy family fun in your car and go see lights. We were hoping that the lights would bring back memories of childhood or a simpler time. These displays gave us those feelings. It was a difficult decision and each home gave us a different feeling. We knew that every person that had entered put in a lot of hard work. These three locations stood out to us.”
Pictured Above: The lights and decorations at Charlie Conerly’s home on Conerly Road were chosen as the overall winners of the recent Experience a Columbia Christmas contest. | Photo by Mark Rogers
