XENIA — Barb Cannon simply wanted a little holiday spirit in the County Clerk of Courts Title Office.
She received that and then some from the six employees she manages after challenging them with a contest to decorate their desk areas for Christmas.
“I came in Monday after Thanksgiving and I said ‘whoa,’ ” Cannon said. “(This year) has been awful. We just all needed a little spirit. So I just challenged them. They exceeded my challenge.”
The employees — Stacy Donovan, Theresa Lehmenkuler, Cathy Miller, Brandy Nolley, Lisa Conley, and Gina Horsley — left little space untouched as they showed off their creativity and imagination.
Scenes include a gingerbread house by Lehmenkuler; a fireplace by Horsley; trees with deer by Conley; a village workshop with candy canes by Miller; a ski lodge by Nolley, and “A Christmas Story” by Donovan.
“When I came home and said it’s a contest my kids said ‘we’re on it.’ ” Lehmenkuler said.
Strings of lights are prominently featured throughout the displays. One boy actually turned off the lights inside the office to get a better view.
“He said ‘I wanted to see the lights in the dark,’ ” Cannon said.
Customers did the bulk of the voting and after the 170 ballots were counted, the gingerbread house won.
“They just really totally made my whole Christmas,” Cannon said. “Really they all won.”
This was the first time the office was decorated like that but likely not the last.
