Festival of Trees Announces 2013 “People’s Choice” Winners

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Dec. 18, 2013 - PRLog -- For the seventh straight year, Southwest Floridians flocked to the Fort Myers River District to visit Goodwill Industries’ annual Festival of Trees, presented by FineMark National Bank & Trust.  More than 3,200 ballots were cast in the Festival’s “People’s Choice” awards, in which visitors can vote for their favorite trees.

“The competition for the People’s Choice awards has become a big part of the Festival,” says Goodwill spokesperson Madison Mitchell.  “The trees this year were all magnificent; many people had trouble deciding on their favorites so the numbers were really close.”

Most coveted is the Best All-Around award, which this year was presented to Norris Home Furnishings.  Its 10-foot-tall tree, “Picture Perfect” was decorated with blue and silver ornaments, creating a winter wonderland effect. The tree also came with a bevy of gifts such as a $500 Norris shopping spree, a private photo shoot, Norman Love chocolates and more.

For the third straight year, the Fort Myers River District Alliance (RDA) was also a crowd favorite at the festival.  The RDA tree, titled “Timeless Southern Classic,” won the Most Traditional ribbon from festivalgoers and came with over 40 gift cards to River District businesses. In the past, the RDA has won the titles of Most Traditional, Best All-Around and Mayor’s Choice.

Winner of the Most Creative award was LCEC’s “Lights, Camera, Action!”  The tree was adorned with over 100 hand-painted light bulbs by LCEC employees- each one a unique piece of art.

This year, Fort Myers Mayor Randy Henderson selected the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center’s tree, “Rockin Around the SBDAC Christmas Tree” as the recipient of the annual Mayor’s Choice award. The tree was fitted with a one-of-a-kind Epiphone guitar signed by rock legends from bands like Boston and the Doobie Brothers.

The award-winning trees, along with the 22 others displayed at the Festival, were auctioned off at the Tux & Trees Gala, a black-tie fundraiser for The Southwest Florida Goodwill Foundation.

The Festival of Trees is presented by FineMark National Bank & Trust, and with the assistance of sponsorships from The Home Depot, GCG Construction, The News-Press Media Group, Gandeur, D’Latinos Magazine, Azteca America, Sunny 106, Ryder, OFM Builders & Consultants, g3 Catering, East Coast Recycling Equipment, and Two Men and a Truck.

More information about the Festival of Trees and Tux & Trees Gala is available online at www.tuxandtrees.com.