DeKalb | June marked the beginning of the Yards of Distinction Program in DeKalb, an annual city-wide beautification project that recognizes the work residents put into their yards every summer.

The program was started by the Citizens Community Enhancement Commission (CCEC) in an effort to further enhance the appearance, quality of life and reputation of DeKalb.

“This is the third year that the program has been going on,” said Susan Johnson, CCEC chair. “It runs from June until September, and people can nominate a yard in their respective ward that they feel a lot of time and energy went into and submit the application with photos to the executive secretary’s office, who then sends the applications to the commission for nomination.”

Johnson explained one yard is chosen from a business and each of the seven wards in DeKalb from all of the nominations that the commission receives. The winners get a “Yard of Distinction” sign that they can display for one month until new yards are nominated.

“This is one of those things that upgrades neighborhoods and recognizes individuals who exemplify the quality of having beautification of property who take pride in their work, pride in their neighborhood and pride in their community,” said DeKalb Mayor Kris Povlsen.

DeKalb residents who received signs for the month of June knew what it took to win.

“I spend about three to four hours a day working on it,” said Lind Buhr, yard winner for the Fourth Ward. “It was a challenge this year because of the rain and the short amount of growing time, but I enjoy it. The yard has a man-made river, pond and waterfall, a lot of hostas, shady grasses and perennial plants. I would say I’ve had over 200 people come by to see it,” Buhr said.

DeKalb resident Justin Evans, yard winner of the Fifth Ward, said the sheer amount of flowers in his yard helped him win the nomination.

“We have a lot of flowers,” Evans said. “I’d say I spend six or seven hours a week, maybe an hour a day watering all the plants. I think it’s really cool. We just moved here a year and a half ago, and its nice that we were recognized by our neighbors.”

Despite the effort made by the CCEC and the response of the residents, Johnson says they would still like to see more nominations come in.

“The amount of nominations we receive is pretty sporadic,” Johnson said. “Sometimes we have a lot for one ward, sometimes we have none, and we have to go out and look for a yard to nominate. We would like to encourage people to participate more so we can recognize the hard work that people put in to their yards.”

Johnson said that yards can be nominated more than once, and if a nomination is not selected for the month it was submitted, it can be held over for consideration in the ensuing months.