Finalists for the 2023 President’s Awards Program have been announced.
For over 30 years the awards program, sponsored by Texas Downtown (TXDT), has recognized outstanding projects, places, and people of Texas downtowns.
In the category of Design: Best Public Improvement Project, The City of Levelland’s Main Street Program’s Mosaic Handrail project has been selected as a finalist for communities under 50,000.
Downtown Levelland is proud to boast of the increase from four downtown mosaics to 90, in less than two years, with the addition of 43 handrails to provide safety and security to our patrons.
Each one has been designed to pay tribute to our history, our industry, and our culture, and continues to set us apart from other Texas cities as the official City of Mosaics.
TXDT was established in 1985 to connect and serve communities that are committed to downtown vitality. The organization is an independent, statewide nonprofit that represents cities and towns of all sizes, economic development corporations, chambers of commerce, local associations, small businesses, and individuals.
“This is a great honor, to be selected as a finalist for Best Public Improvement. There are so many incredible downtowns in the State of Texas and the competition is fierce. We appreciate the opportunity to highlight the great things we have to showcase in Downtown Levelland,” said Main Street Manager, Tania Moody.
Roughly 114 entries were submitted in 11 different categories from communities across the state. Design and achievement categories were judged by separate panels.
The judges for design entries were: Lois Rodriguez, Texas Highways Magazine; Chris Dyer, Dr. Pepper Museum;
Chelsea Irby, TX Chapter of the American Planning Association; Chris Lawrence, Downtown Bryan Developer; Liz Grindstaff, Freese & Nichols; Amanda Garcia, Texas Travel Alliance; Brittany Petrilli, Texas Association of Museums; and Jane Jenkins, Jane Jenkins Resources.
Winners will be announced on Wednesday, October 25, at the President’s Awards Gala, held in conjunction with the 2023 Texas Downtown Annual Conference scheduled for October 24-27 in Nacogdoches.
Downtown Levelland is asking the community and those that feel compelled to vote for them for the People’s Choice portion of the Best Public Improvement Award for 2023. To do this, starting (Friday, Sept. 29) at noon, visit People’s Choice Awards on the Facebook page for Texas Downtown.
The awards program for the people allows the public to vote on their favorite downtown project, organization, and small business in Texas. 2023 People’s Choice Awards voting will be open for a week through 5 p.m. Friday, October 6, in Texas Downtown’s Facebook photo album that will be pinned to the top of the page. Vote by “liking” or “loving” the individual photo graphic of your top award finalist in each of the nine award categories in the original photo album.
Voters don’t have to follow the Texas Downtown Facebook page to vote, and they only have to vote once. Comments don’t count as votes.
For more information about the President’s Awards, the Texas Downtown Annual Conference, or other programs of the Texas Downtown Association, please visit http:// www.texasdowntown.org.