The staff of Southern Valley decked themselves for the holiday as employees held a Tacky Christmas Contest Dec. 1.

NORMAN PARK, Ga. — In the spirit of Christmas, Southern Valley held its first Tacky Christmas Contest among employees in the office on Dec. 1.

While the event was originally planned simply for fun and entertainment, the stakes were raised when a $200 prize was offered to the person who received the most votes for tackiest outfit. The one catch with the cash prize, however, was that whoever won the contest would then choose the person within the company who was most deserving based on their work efforts over the course of the past year.

The morning of the event, almost everyone in the office participated in the contest and proudly arrived to work strutting their finest and tackiest Christmas attire. After an office-wide lunch, votes were cast and Dug Schwalls won a landslide victory.

Without hesitation, Schwalls presented the $200 to a local fund collecting donations to provide gifts for children in the community who would otherwise not have Christmas. While the donation wasn’t to another Southern Valley employee as originally intended, no one could argue that his choice was an even better use of the money. Several other office employees give annually to this fund too.

If anyone interested in making a donation to be used for purchasing Christmas gifts for those in need in the area, please contact Waylon Stuckey at (229) 456-2016.