Three winners have been announced in the University Avenue Corridor Coalition’s inaugural Light Up University Avenue Contest.

Winners were: the Lesser family (Glendale Hills neighborhood); the Welch family (Mott Park neighborhood); and the Jones family (Carriage Town neighborhood). Winners each received $300 for their efforts to make the University Avenue Corridor more festive during the holiday season. More than 100 homes and businesses celebrated in the ‘Light Up the Avenue’ campaign, which lasted from late November through early January.

"We were pleasantly surprised by the amount of residents and businesses that put in the time to decorate," said contest co-Chair Peter Hutchison of the University of Michigan Youth Violence Prevention Center. "This is a first-time effort, and we intend to give it at least three years to get rolling."

Other committee members included representatives from Child Care Network, Beta Theta Pi fraternity, 4 Seasons Lighting and Kettering University.

Established in 2012 by Kettering University, the mission of the University Avenue Corridor Coalition is to transform the region into an attractive and crime-free community that is conducive to sustainable development. Its borders include Hurley Medical Center to the north, McLaren Hospital to the west, University of Michigan-Flint to the east and the Flint River and west Court Street to the south. It's organizing principles include crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED), addressing crime hot spots and stabilizing land use in the area.

For more information contact Jack Stock, jstock@kettering.edu, (810)762-7873.