What began as a pool of 200 communities has been narrowed down to 60, and Selma is one of them.

Selma has been chosen as a finalist in the search for the Prettiest Painted Places in America, a contest hosted by the Paint Quality Institute. Ten towns were chosen from the Southeast region as finalists.

A panel of judges with expertise in color selection, exterior painting and home improvement, reviewed pictures submitted by Selma Tourism, which they found impressive.

Debbie Zimmer, color and paint expert for the Paint Quality Institute, said Selma was chosen for it’s exceptional use of paint, specifically in Ward 3.

“The judges spent time looking at the color schemes from the individual buildings that were submitted,” said Debbie Zimmer. “And of course we also took in to account the appropriate paint scheme for the type of architecture within that community.”

Specifically, Zimmer said judges took in to account overall “curb appeal” of communities and how paint use highlighted architectural elements.

The next phase of the contest, Zimmer said, entails judges selecting 12 communities from all the finalists, which will be dubbed the Prettiest Painted Places. Other than Selma, Gulf Shores is the only other Alabama community that has been selected as a finalist.

This is the third time the contest has been hosted, Zimmer said. Selma was a finalist in the most recent contest, which was in 2000.

“Your community can certainly take pride in the fact that they are named as one of the finalists and certainly if they win as one of the prettiest places in America you’ll become part of our national media exposure,” Zimmer said.

She added that the search for the prettiest painted place has been going exceptionally well and Selma residents should “hang tight to see if they win.”

“It really is a celebration of towns that take that concept of everyone working together to make their town beautiful to heart,” Zimmer said.

For more information on the contest, visit www.blog.paintquality.com.