Southwest Florida’s premier private homebuilder, Neal Communities, hosted its 21st My Favorite Home art contest on Friday, December 9. The My Favorite Home art contest is a Neal Communities tradition that has taken place at a local elementary school each year since 1999, with the exceptions of 2020 and 2021 due to COVID.
Neal Communities partnered with Annie Lucy Williams Elementary School in Parrish. Students in kindergarten, second grade and fifth grade were given the opportunity to create their own vision of the ideal home using a variety of mediums. A winning artwork was selected from each grade, and two will be used on the Neal Communities and Neal Signature Homes holiday cards.
In addition, Neal Communities donated $1,500 to the school’s art department.
“This is a magnificent event,” said Andrea Keezer, the principal of Annie Lucy Williams Elementary School. “The children are very grateful to be included, and we are looking forward to purchasing art equipment with Neal Communities’ donation.”
The school’s art teacher, Stefani Lis, said, “I’m looking at using the donation to buy supplies for projects that we haven’t had the opportunity to explore yet, as well as additional materials to support students with extra needs.”
The kindergarten artists were learning about shapes and used cut outs to make their homes. The second graders were completing a unit on urban art and were challenged to create a city building that they would like to live in. The fifth graders were practicing two-point perspective and were asked to create gingerbread houses using that technique.
“We enjoy seeing each student’s unique vision of their favorite home and being able to help support the art curriculum for our local schools,” said Pat Neal, founder and chairman of Neal Communities. “We’ve done this contest 21 times now, and we’re excited to bring the contest back this year. It’s a pleasure every year.”
The artworks were judged by John Neal, president of Neal Land & Neighborhoods; Richard Tatem, Manatee County School Board Member, District 5; Anne LeBaron, CEO of Take Stock in Children of Manatee County; Jennifer Hamey, chair of Parrish Civic Association; Michael D. Williamson, division chief of Parrish Fire District; and Carlos Puente, vice president of sales and marketing of Neal Communities.
Visit the photo gallery for a full collection of event images.
For more information about Neal Communities, visit NealCommunities.com
