Members of City Council and the Alexandria Beautification Commission (left to right): Kevin Dunne, Richard Dorrier, Councilwoman Del Pepper, Geoff Montross, Emily Freeland, Donald Kent, Mayor Justin Wilson, Councilwoman Amy Jackson, Christina Mazurkevich, Mary Ensch, Denise Tennant, Monica Murphy, Kathryn Chiasson, Joseph Crowell. Photo by Mellenie Runion
On Oct. 16, 2019, the Alexandria Beautification Commission held its annual Beautification Awards ceremony at the Lyceum in Old Town Alexandria. The event honored residents, businesses, and organizations for their exceptional contributions to the beautification of the city of Alexandria through landscaping, architecture and sustainable design.
Commission member, Joseph Crowell, served as the evening’s emcee and announced the winners. Mayor Justin Wilson and members of City Council, Canek Aguirre, Del Pepper, and Amy Jackson presented the winners with their award certificates.
Joan Honeyman, ASLA, owner of Jordan Honeyman Landscape Design and adjunct professor of Sustainable Landscape Design at George Washington University, delivered the keynote address. Ms. Honeyman spoke about the recent renovation of the Ramsay House garden at the Alexandria Visitors Center, one of the oldest buildings in historic Old Town, “into a more useable and more beautiful civic amenity.” Ms. Honeyman also spoke about the power of village participation, which she defined as “people coming together in a mindful and supportive manner to get something done,” as it related to the renovation project. She stated, “Thoughtfully designed urban green spaces have the capacity to establish a sense of community that’s beautiful, safe, social and connected,” which ultimately results in community empowerment and ownership.
Awards were given in the categories of: Excellence in Architecture, Excellence in Sustainable Design, Green Practices in Beautification, Residential Beautification, Community Beautification, and Commercial Beautification. A new award category, Excellence in Planning and Design, was added this year “for a large project that benefits the community as a whole by creating a more livable city.” Commissioner Christina Mazurkevich, explained, “It was important for us to recognize the King Street Corridor Initiative for its tremendous impact on the city of Alexandria. We decided that the beautiful transformation of the waterfront and the historic retail corridor was worthy of special merit.”
A full list of the 2019 Alexandria Beautification Award winners can be found here https://www.alexandriava.gov/uploadedFiles/recreation/parks/ABCAwardsWinners19.pdf