Superheroes on Parade Awards

Superheroes on Parade Awards Banquet

After 10 months of exciting unveilings and viewings of the 101 magnificent Superheroes on Parade dog sculptures, 114,399 votes were cast online to select the public’s favorites. In this second year of this tail-wagging awareness and fundraising campaign, individually decorated, puppy-sized sculptures were featured in Sarasota while larger-than-life dogs were created for St. Petersburg and Tampa.

Southeastern Guide Dogs revealed the People’s Choice Award winners at a celebration held at The Palladium in St. Petersburg on Saturday, October 7.

An audience of hundreds of supporters enjoyed a program hosted by local celebrity Joey Panek, featuring the special performance of the song “Nella Fantasia” (“My Fantasy”) performed by Southeastern Guide Dogs’ visually impaired graduate Ewa Nowakowski.

There were three top vote-getters selected in each city. The nine winning artists and their sponsors were presented with glass sculpture award plaques.

The 2017 People’s Choice Award winners are:

Sarasota

 

Best in Show – Happy Returns

8,249 votes

sponsor: Rudd International Asset Management

artist: Louis Pak

 

Top Dog – Lily

8,001 votes

sponsor: Stephen and Marcia Miner

artist: Jenny Medved

 

Top Dog – Puppies with a Purpose

7,985 votes

sponsor: Lakewood Ranch Puppy Raisers

artist: Elizabeth Johnson


 

St. Petersburg

Best in Show – Duke

33,286 votes

sponsor: Dr. David and Kathy Nateman

artist: Carrie Jadus

 

Top Dog – Flo-Fido

20,891 votes

sponsor: Progressive Insurance

artist: Michael Crabb

 

Top Dog – Rigby

5,724 votes

sponsor: Jim Barge and Dawn Knight

artist: Debbie Marucci


 

Tampa

Best in Show – Mastro

2,210 votes

sponsor: Mastro Subaru of Tampa

artist: Zach Gilliland

 

Top Dog – Duncan

2,141 votes

sponsor: Community Dog

artist: Stephanie Agliano

 

Top Dog – Captain Fur Baby

1,600 votes

sponsor: Village Pet Spa

artist: Miraga Siciliano

“Once again, generous businesses joined together with a talented group of local artists to make the Superheroes on Parade campaign something really special, raising awareness and funds for the mission of Southeastern Guide Dogs,” said CEO Titus Herman. “These creatively themed, imaginative dog sculptures represent the real superhero dogs that we breed, raise and train every day. It’s their destiny to transform the lives of the visually impaired and veterans living with post-traumatic stress disorder and other disabilities. We are so grateful that the public has embraced this heartwarming campaign and become heroes for our real, four-legged superheroes.”

Stay tuned in 2018-19 for the third edition of Superheroes on Parade, when a new batch of original dog sculptures will be unleashed in Sarasota, Venice, St. Petersburg and Tampa. View more photos from the Awards Ceremony on Facebook.