Fairhope may not have won the top prize in this year’s America in Bloom competition, but the city did get recognition for one citizen: outgoing Mayor Tim Kant.

Kant was awarded the prestigious John Holmes Community Champion award for his years of work in helping the Fairhope community.

“It was nice that he was recognized for all of his work,” Fairhope Public Works Director Jennifer Fidler said. “He was speechless. It really caught him off guard.”

Fidler said there were 19 people across the country nominated for the Holmes award, and Kant’s win was a testament to his continued efforts in trying to make Fairhope a more beautiful place to live.

Kant and Fidler recently attended the America in Bloom awards ceremony in Arroyo Grande, Calif., and she said people there knew about Fairhope.

“The first night we were there, we were recognized for our city’s floral displays,” Fidler said. “Because of how we’ve done in the program previously, there are a lot of people across the country who know about Fairhope and the beauty we have cultivated here.”

Fidler said the America in Bloom competition had been good for Fairhope over the years, as the city was recently inducted into the high level Circle of Champions after its continued success in previous years.

“America in Bloom is a not-for-profit organization that was put together to inspire communities to plant pride in their communities,” Fidler said. “We had judges that came to town and looked at several sectors. They looked at floral displays, heritage preservation and a number of other factors.”

Fairhope still has a shot at further recognition for its aesthetic beauty, as the international Communities in Bloom competition results are due before the end of the year.