ROBERTSDALE, Alabama -- If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, there was plenty to behold when the Central Baldwin Chamber of Commerce presented the First Annual Beautification Awards to businesses on Tuesday, April 23.

The contest began in February and applications were accepted through March with judging held Monday, April 8 by the Robertsdale Garden Club with one business selected from each municipality in Central Baldwin (Loxley, Robertsdale, Silverhill and Summerdale.

Each business was scored on curb appeal (tidiness, neatness), overall design, appropriate use of plant materials, sustainability and maintenance. The winners from each town/city received a beautification award sign which can be displayed until Nov. 1.

“We were very pleased with the number of nominations we received,” said Darlene Roper, chairman of this year’s Beautification Committee.

Roper said the Committee was inspired by Fairhope’s downtown beautification project.

“We’re not trying to compete with Fairhope, but they’ve done a very good job encouraging businesses to put their best foot forward,” she said. “Our focus is on the Highway 59 corridor and continuing that effort for people visiting the Gulf Coast.”

As part of that effort, Roper said, the Chamber will also continue to host seminars similar to the one held in February at Magnolia Blossom Café.

Fred Nation conducted the seminar with emphasis on native plants which have a higher probability of success, because native plants are better adapted to the southwest Alabama environment and typically take less water and artificial nutrients such as chemical fertilizer.

Nation, a local field botanist, has documented and photographed the wildflowers and native plants of South Alabama for more than 20 years. He teaches these subjects and plant nomenclature for Weeks Bay Reserve, the Baldwin and Mobile County Master Gardener intern classes and for the Adult Learning Center in Fairhope.

He has taught classes in wildflower photography at Faulkner State Community College. Nation is the author of the book, “Where the Wild Illicium Grows; Historic Plants of South Alabama and the Central Gulf Coast.” Most recently, he has assisted in restoring Daphne’s Village Point Park Preserve from an old dump site into a fully functioning wetland.

Recipients for this year’s awards are:

Robertsdale

Mack Funeral Home

Established in 1965 by Huey and Jean Mack, the business is still locally owned and operated by the Mack family, Huey “Hoss” Mack Jr. and his wife Sherri.

“I think it’s wonderful that the Chamber is encouraging beautification of local businesses,” Sherri Mack said, “and we are honored to be the first recipient of this award.”

Loxley

Stewart Lodges

at Steelwood

Located inside, but operated independently of the Steelwood Country Club in Loxley, Stewart Lodges has been operating for the past 13 years with memberships opening up to the general public in 2007.

“We have a staff of about 20 people working behind the scenes and it is because of their dedication that we are receiving this award,” said Jennie Campbell, CEO, president of Stewart Steelwood Investments. “We are very honored to receive this award and both Stewart Lodges and Steelwood are committed to being active members of the Loxley community.”

Silverhill

Oscar Johnson

Memorial Library

Listed on the National Registry of Historic Places, the library is one of the oldest buildings in Silverhill, the site of the original Svea Land Company, and is named for the town’s founder, who ran the company.

The Non-Pariel Club took over the building and opened it as a library in 1922. The town took over the operation of the library from the Non-Pariel Club in 1975.

“We are just thrilled to be receiving this award,” said Library Director Shirley Stephens. “I can’t say enough about our town workers that put in the effort day in and day out to keep this place looking nice inside and out. Without them we would not have received this award.”

Summerdale

Summerdale Self

Storage

Located on Highway 59, Summerdale Self Storage has operated in the town since 2006, said manager Leonard Cline.

“Being on Highway 59, we want to attract people to our business and part of that is the effort made to keep the place looking nice,” said Cline. “We are happy that those efforts paid off with this award.”

Roper said the Chamber plans to continue with the awards in hopes that each municipality will take over their own beautification efforts.

“We are very pleased that people are putting in the time and effort to move this project forward,” she said, “and we are hoping to continue to expand the program into the future.”