Mercers Win Home Decorating Contest

The Mercer residence on Toyopa Drive (between Drummond and Carey) nabbed first place in the Fourth of July home decorating contest, organized by the Palisades Americanism Parade Association.   Second place went to Joe Almaraz (owner of the venerable Palisades Barber Shop on Antioch) and his wife, Nina, who live on Sunset.   The contest was sponsored this year by Anthony Marguleas, founder and president of Amalfi Estates on Monument.   ’I elected to sponsor the contest when I attended a PAPA meeting in March and learned that the contest was not held last year because no one would sponsor it,’ Marguleas said. ‘It was a perfect fit for my company so I was happy to volunteer.   Jim and Vicki Mercer, who won an American flag that had been flown over the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., placed second in the inaugural decorating contest two years ago.   In 2009, Jim and Sam, one of the couple’s five children, were at home the week of the Fourth. Vicki, a pediatrician, was at a medical convention and Sam’s four siblings, Andrew, Katie, Nick and Molly, were out of town.   Sam, who was 15 at the time, read about the decorating contest in the Palisadian-Post, and convinced his father to enter. The Mercer men went to Party Pizzazz on Sunset, purchased anything that resembled patriotic decorations and put them up.   They lost out to an aggressive effort by Ali and Lauren Hoffman, who decorated their parents’ home on Via de la Paz, and added streamers to the trees and chalk designs on the sidewalk.   After seeing the Hoffman property, Jim Mercer promised, ‘We’re gunning for first place next year. Now that we know what it takes to get first, we’ll spend that extra $16.’   ’My husband was a college runner who rarely came in second,’ Vicki said.   In anticipation of last year’s contest, Mercer returned to Party Pizzazz and ordered additional banners and bunting. ‘I figured we’d have to amp it up,’ he said. ‘I’d much rather have first place.’   Unfortunately, the 2009 contest went on hiatus. Disappointed, but undaunted, Mercer still decorated.   This year Mercer, a lawyer with Bryan Cave in Santa Monica, was ready for the judges, who included Marguleas and his family, Honorary Mayor Gavin MacLeod, Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Arnie Wishnick and attorney Rob Weber, who drove around the Huntington Palisades, the Alphabet streets and the Via/Swarthmore (Continued on Page 21) bluff neighborhoods south of Sunset to look at homes.   ’The judging was pretty subjective,’ said judge Weber, who served as PAPA president in 2008 and 2009. ‘We just liked the Mercers’ home the best.’   Mercer said it took about an hour to decorate the house, fence and trees. Nick, 22, who graduated in May from Connecticut College with a degree in anthropology, missed out on the bedecking. ‘I slept in,’ he admitted.   Sam, who was skateboarding in Aspen, also missed helping his father this year. ‘But he was the one who came up with the idea of the stars on the trees,’ Jim said.   Although Sam, who graduated in May from a snowboard school in Maine, was not at home to celebrate the win, his 17-year-old twin sister Molly, a senior at Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, Connecticut, was decorating cupcakes in the kitchen with red, white and blue frosting on the morning of the Fourth.   ’This block is so sweet and enthusiastic,’ Molly said, noting that for many years Jim and Colleen Buerge had hosted a huge gathering across the street from them during the parade. Her classmate Ari Olswanger, who was visiting from Chicago, enjoyed celebrating her first Fourth in the Palisades. ‘I love it so much, it’s so exciting,’ she enthused.   Also home for the day was daughter Katie, 29, a lawyer for O’Melveny & Myers, and her fiance Jorge Fernandez.   Mercer has already started to plan for next year and Vicki hints what might be added. ‘Look for something special in the arch above the door.’   Said contest sponsor Marguleas: ‘Driving around with the other judges on July 3 and seeing all the homes decorated and how excited people were was incredible. This contest is one of those special small-town traditions that makes you realize why the Palisades is such a special place.   ’It was also was exciting to have Gavin Macleod with us and to surprise the winners with the award,’ Marguleas continued. ‘I look forward to sponsoring this contest for many years to come, and I hope more people participate next year and get in the Fourth of July spirit.’