Art Contest Reveals Hurricane Impact on Children’s Idea of Dream Home
Evalyn, Avery and Benny, students at Gene Witt Elementary were winners in the 23rd Annual Neal Communities My Favorite Home Art contest.
Three Gene Witt Elementary (Manatee School District) students were chosen for the holiday cards in the Neal Communities’ 23rd My Favorite Home Art Contest.
Approximately 670 students from Gene Witt Elementary in Bradenton, Fla., participated, creating their own “My Favorite Home,” as students in grades K-5 designed their vision of an ideal home, with winners in each grade level – a total of six winners selected – with the top three home designs featured on holiday cards for Neal Communities, Neal Signature Homes and SimplyDwell Homes.
Winners included kindergarten student Benny Burdick, whose design is featured on the Neal Communities Card; fourth grader Evalyn Gale whose design is featured on the Neal Signature Homes card; and first grader Avery Bush whose design is showcased on the Simply Dwell Homes card.
Benny Burdick explained that his inspiration for his house came from his family’s cabin, noting that it is a tiny, skinny house and he just really likes skinny houses while Evalyn Gale says she wants to live in the mountains that that is why she designed her house to be in the mountains.
Avery Bush said that her design inspiration came from a toy she has at home. “It is a mushroom, so I decided to make my favorite home a mushroom house that looked like my favorite toy. The round roof might help in a hurricane, like an umbrella.
Students took an architectural approach to the contest, according to visual arts teacher Kimberly Hoy. After Hurricanes Helene and Milton ripped through the region, the students have taken a step back to think about innovation that would help their favorite home better withstand the storms.
“Following the hurricanes, it was interesting to see how our thinking turned to innovation when we started to look at architecture in terms of challenges that prompted change like weather,” says visual arts teacher Kimberly Hoy. “We saw an “imaginary” house example that was up on pylons, so water could flow through underneath.
The kids immediately started talking about the storm surge and how this was the way many of the newer beach houses are built today. We identified this as an innovation in comparison to many older homes that were built at sea-level and destroyed by storm surge. I challenged the kids to think about a problem their favorite home might solve. This prompted some of the kids to revise and add changes to their designs.”
Neal Communities donated $5,000 to the school for its participation in the contest, including $1,500 for supplies to execute My Favorite Home. The remaining donation will go toward the creation of a Digital Art iPad Lab at Gene Witt Elementary. Following the contest, Neal Communities learned that the Digital Art Lab fundraising was $2,500 from its goal and chose to donate that amount to help Hoy reach her goal.
“Through a variety of fundraising activities, along with the arts millage funding that is generously provided by our community, and now the generous donation of Neal Communities — I believe we will finally have the funds to purchase our lab,” Hoy says.
“Digital Art is really the way of the future for many young artists. I am so thankful for the generosity of our community and Neal Communities in bringing this opportunity to our kids. They are going to be ready to take that leap into the future of art creation and hopefully we will inspire many new “imagineers” of the future.”
About Neal Communities
Neal Communities, based in Lakewood Ranch, Florida, is Southwest Florida’s largest and most established locally owned and operated private builder. During the company’s 50-year history, it has built more than 23,000 new homes in more than 90 acclaimed communities from Tampa to Naples.
The company consistently ranks among the nation’s top 100 home builders and has earned numerous awards including the prestigious Builder of the Year from Professional Builder in 2015 and America’s Best Builder in 2012 from BUILDER Magazine. With a core belief that “Where You Live Matters,” Neal Communities has given more than $8 million to local charities throughout Southwest Florida and is committed to the communities where they live, work and build. Company revenue in fiscal year 2023 was $905 million.
Additional Neal Communities brands include Neal Signature Homes, Charlene Neal PureStyle, Waterscapes Pools & Spas, Neal Communities Funding and Allegiant Title Professionals. For more information, visit
Thank you,
Glenda Charlie and David Cates
