Local volunteer groups were recognized Thursday for their efforts in cleaning up and beautifying streets and areas throughout Orange County District 2, including Apopka, at what would be the final year of the Corridor of the Year contest.  

Contest awards were given out at the Wekiva High School Media Center, where Lee Road, maintained by Lee Road Safe Neighborhoods, won the title.   

This year’s competition went up and down Old Dixie Highway, Clarcona Road, U.S.  Highway 441, Edgewater Drive and Lee Road.  

District 2 Commissioner Christine Moore initiated Corridor of the Year in 2021, a yearly community improvement program in which volunteer groups called corridor teams work to enhance specific roads or areas in District 2, focusing on cleanliness, beautification and safety. Each team is led by a “corridor chief.”  

“The challenges were significantly different, and it was incredibly different with all of these businesses,” Moore said. “We had fewer residential properties, and it really presented us with some new challenges.”  

Participants knew that with their diligence in Corridor of the Year, property values would go up and crime rates would go down, Moore said.  

Contest standards are properly maintained sidewalks and curbs, trimmed trees and bushes, adherence to road safety and septic standards, clean and well-maintained fences free of limbs and weeds, trash removed from visible areas, and garbage cans neatly stowed on the side of the house. 

Bonus points could be earned for new murals in the corridor, fence cup art, stained or artistically decorated fences, and wrapped or painted utility or post office boxes, and improvements to moldy/dirty structures. 

Keith Landry, Spectrum News 13 multimedia journalist, was a co-presenter and guest speaker. He emphasized the impact of making a positive difference at the local level and praised the volunteers and Moore for their efforts in improving local communities for everyone.  

“You may not think that Congress is particularly effective right now. And you may not think that your state government is the very best we’ve ever had right now, but I am here to tell you that you can affect change the most, the best and the most efficiently at the local level,” he said. “That’s what we’re all about, meetings and everything you’re doing, your community groups.”  

This is the last Corridor of the Year contest for Moore, who has stepped down as District 2 commissioner to run for mayor of Apopka. She plans to remain in her seat until April 27, 2026. If elected mayor, she would be sworn in on April 28, 2026, she said.  

The People of Southern Apopka group was recognized for focusing on Clarcona Road from Keene Road northward to George H. Washington Street. The team tied with the People of Clarcona-Ocoee for Most Improved Corridor, while team member Pam Welker won Citizen of the Year.  

“Think about where we were and where we are now,” Sara Bircher, People of Southern Apopka membership chair, said. “It feels better. It looks better when we drive by.” 

The People of Northern Apopka won the People’s Choice Award and the Barn Burner Award for their work on Old Dixie Highway, from Errol Parkway to Plymouth Sorrento Road.  

“I feel like it’s not about us, though, just to see a difference in the neighborhood,” Merry Lovern, People of Northern Apopka corridor chief, said. “I think that’s the biggest takeaway is the improvement just in that small, little run of road there. We had neighbors coming out whom we met by happenstance and helped clean up and took a really active role.”