the del ray Citizens association presents the 

Special Category Judge: 
The Clark W. Griswold Award 
 

Elisa Nebolsine lives and works in Del Ray, and she is a serious student of holiday lights.  Elisa grew up in a family that didn’t value holiday decorations.  Every year she watched her neighbors decorating, and dreamed of being able to do the same, but her parents never let her.  They had a wreath.  The same wreath every year.

When Elisa moved to Del Ray in 2000, she began to hone her craft of holiday light decorating.  For many years her house was widely known because of the six foot peace sign on the roof.  The peace sign was constructed from pool noodles, pounds and pounds of hot glue, and several hundred ornaments.  After some concern over a roof leak, the peace sign was retired.  

Elisa’s decorations evolved into themed exhibits exploring deeper issues of community shown by Rudolph coexisting and sometimes even riding on the back of animals including alpacas and border collies.  One year climate change was represented by lights showing heat and warmth in traditionally cold settings (penguins in hats and scarves but shown with lit flowers and plants), and even deeper existential issues of good vs bad (unicorns wearing sweaters next to polar bears without sweaters).  Ultimately, her kids reached an age where there was a rebellion and the displays became more and more mundane.

She is thrilled to be a judge in the Clark W. Griswold category of holiday lights.  Elisa has dreamed of Del Ray representing the passion shown in the seminal holiday movie (NOT Elf) but National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.  She hopes that Del Ray will embrace the spirit of Clark W. Griswold and that the town will be aglow in light, warmth, and holiday spirit.

Judge

Andrew Beaujon is a senior editor at Washingtonian, where he covers media, politics and music. Andrew and his family moved to Del Ray in 2006. He and his wife have one tall son at Alexandria City High School and a slightly taller son at the Rochester Institute of Technology, and they live with a pair of bonkers English springer spaniels in a house that's probably too small for all these comings and goings. But they don't mind, because this neighborhood is heaven. 

Judge

Dana was born and raised in Del Ray and never left. He and his wife Linda raised their three daughters in the same neighborhood where he grew up.
Dana joined the Alexandria  Police Department in 1979 and patrolled the Delray community for seven years. He was then promoted to Detective investigating crimes committed against children. He retired in 2005 after being elected to Sheriff, assuming oversight for the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office. Dana retired in 2021 after serving our city for 43 years. Dana has a long history of making positive changes for the Delray community. He and his wife Linda enjoy spending their time with their family, especially their three grandchildren and continue to live in Del Ray.