A holiday display featuring more than 22,000 LED lights is the grand prize winner of The Illuminating Company's second annual 'Merry & Bright' Holiday Lights Photo Contest, a competition conducted on the company's Facebook page.

Steve and Carmela Safran of Strongsville spent weeks creating an elaborate light display at their home. Their hard work received 420 votes out of nearly 1,000 total votes cast on Facebook. They won a $200 Visa gift card and a set of Lumenplay app-enabled LED lights.

Participants were encouraged to submit photos of their homes' outdoor lighting displays on The Illuminating Company's Facebook page during the first several weeks of December. Ten finalists were selected from all entries, and visitors to the company's Facebook page voted to select the winners.

The Safran family's colorful display featured arches over the driveway, lighted trees of all sizes throughout the yard, snowflakes on the house, nutcrackers guarding the entrance to the driveway, a mailbox to the North Pole and Santa and his reindeer on the roof. Each year, they try to outdo their previous year's display by adding decorations that make it bigger and brighter.

'We have always enjoyed traveling to different neighborhoods and cities to see different light displays and admire them,' said Carmela Safran. 'We love to share that joy with others through our own display, and enjoy seeing people stop to look at our lights or take selfies or photos in our yard.'

Runner up Scott Lester of Ashtabula received nearly 375 votes on Facebook and won a $100 gift card. Lester - who started decorating his home three years ago - created a display that featured thousands of lights and custom decorations that he built, including a giant 'Noel' sign, a 12-foot tree and a North Pole sign.

'Our 'Merry & Bright' Holiday Lights Photo Contest showcases some of the most spectacular holiday scenes across our region,' said Rosemary Spoljarick, manager of community involvement at FirstEnergy. 'Thanks to everyone who entered the contest and voted for their favorite display on Facebook. Congratulations to the winners!'

View the winning photos on The Illuminating Company's Facebook page or on Flickr.

FirstEnergy Corporation published this content on 15 January 2018 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein.
Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 15 January 2018 19:04:00 UTC.

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