The mayor presented the Mayor's Award of Excellence to Tom Mefford on behalf of the City of Aurora, thanking him for organizing a neighborhood holiday light display and for volunteering to help neighbors with snow removal.

Tom Mefford, who organized and coordinates the display, told assembled officials and neighbors that the effort began with one house and has grown over about 10 years to roughly 25 participating homes. “We actually have another 4 on the waiting list for next year,” Mefford said, describing the display's steady expansion.

Mefford described the project as a community effort: each resident helps set up lights on their own homes and the parkway trees, and the individual displays are synchronized by a central computer in his house that animates the whole neighborhood. “So there's gonna be a lot of winking and blinking that will be going on very shortly,” he said.

The mayor noted that a planned ribbon-cutting ceremony was canceled after the area received 10 inches of snow, and praised Mefford for also helping neighbors shovel driveways and run a snowblower. The presentation closed with officials and Mefford thanking neighbors and the city for supporting the event.

The displays are expected to continue; organizers said they will consider expanding participation next season.