National Winner Announced in Patch's Deck the House Contest

In this year's Deck the House contest, the second time was the charm.

Joseph Felix's home in Dallas, GA outshined the other 24 finalists to win the 2012 Deck the House contest and $100,000 for the Paulding County, GA school district.

After placing second in the nationwide voting in the 2011 contest, the Felix home received nearly 11,000 votes this year to finally win Deck the House.

The home, with 100,000 computer animated holiday lights choreographed to Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You," received about 300 more votes than a home in Coventry, R.I., which finished in second place.

There were two national finalists from Wisconsin in the contest: 

• Mike and Debbie Pikula, whose light display in Caledonia takes more than 100 hours to program and features a talking Christmas tree.
• The Ackmanns in Greenfield, whose programmed light display is a family affair bringing mom, dad and son (a Whitnall alum) together in the endeavor.

Judging by the 80 comments on the Felixes' Deck the House submission, visiting the home has become a holiday tradition in Dallas, a suburb about 45 minutes outside Atlanta. Many people said they bring their children every year and that the Felixes’ hard work putting together their holiday lights display was worthy of national recognition.

Patch will present the Felixes with their $100,000 prize check during a local presentation in early 2013.