Oct 5, 2018

America in Bloom Announces 2018 Award Winners

The 2018 America in Bloom National Awards Program were announced at the AIB’s annual symposium and awards celebration  in Lexington, Kentucky on Sept. 29.

All participants were evaluated on seven criteria: overall impression, community vitality, environmental efforts, heritage celebration, urban forestry, landscaped areas, and flowers.

Additionally, they were judged on their community involvement across municipal, residential, and commercial sectors. America in Bloom is the only national awards program that sends specially trained judges to personally visit participants.

In addition, each participant receives a detailed written evaluation that can be used as a guide to future improvements.

The population category winners are:

• Castle Rock, Washington — Under 3,000
• Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania — 3,000–10,000
• Newtown Square, Pennsylvania — 10,000–14,000
• Tavares, Florida — 14,000–25,000
• Mansfield, Ohio — 25,000– 5,000
• St. Charles, Illinois — 25,000–50,000
• Lewisburg, West Virginia — Champions – Tall*
• Arroyo Grande, California — Champions – Grande*
• St. Charles, Illinois — Champions – Venti*
• Lexington, Kentucky — Champions – Trenta*

*The Champions categories are for towns that have a combination of any three: population category win and/or outstanding achievement awards.

Outstanding Achievement Award winners are:

• Holliston, Massachusetts — Celebrating Heritage
• Washington, Missouri — Urban Forestry
• Morro Bay, California — Landscaped Areas Combined
• Locks, Wisconsin — Overall Impression
• Calabasas, California — Environmental Efforts
• Logan, Ohio — Community Involvement
• Bluffton, Ohio — Flowers
• Brewton, Alabama — Community Vitality

Special Award winners are:

• Washington, Missouri — Community Mentoring
• West Chicago, Illinois — Best Community Celebration
• Decatur, Illinois — Best Use of Social Media
• Clyde, Ohio — Best Use of Containers in the Landscape
• Ottawa, Illinois — Most Impressive New Project or Program
• Lewisburg, West Virginia — Coolest Downtown
• Mansfield, Ohio — Coolest Place for Kids
• Calabasas, California — Best Example of Protecting Water Resources
• Lexington, Kentucky — Best Heritage Tree Program
• Coshocton, Ohio — Best Use of Edibles in the Landscape
• Decatur, Illinois — YouTube video award

For a full list of results, go to www.Americainbloom.org.