IESA Headlines

Heyworth's Cassidy Kingery Creates Winning Sportsmanship Logo Entry

Cassidy Kingery, a seventh grade student at Heyworth Junior High School, created the winning entry in the Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA) Sportsmanship Logo Contest. The winning entry will be used as the basis for banners, posters and other items to be developed by IESA for its "Building Blocks to Success" character/sportsmanship campaign.

A total of 245 different entries were submitted by students in grades 5-8 from IESA member schools. The logo contest was used as an instrument to generate interest in the Association's character campaign and to encourage student creativity. The Association will work with commercial designers to generate final artwork that enhances the winning entry.

"Sportsmanship is a priority for our Association and our Board of Directors has made a commitment to our members that IESA will promote our "Today's Youth Tomorrow's Leaders program to its fullest," said Assistant Executive Director Julie Cochran, the staff administrator responsible for the program. "The fact that we received so many entries tells us that staff and students at the member schools realize good sportsmanship is important. Cassidy Kingery's design captured the essence of our Building Blocks to Success."

Contest rules required each entry to include the "Building Blocks to Success" phrase, the words "IESA" and "Sportsmanship" and nine different words representing the building blocks: Discipline, Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, Citizenship, Integrity and Teamwork.

The winning four-color, computer generated entry shows the nine building blocks arranged like an award stand with Sportsmanship the tenth block on top of the nine. The blocks are arranged in a row of four blocks as the base (Responsibility, Respect, Citizenship and Discipline), then a row of three blocks on top of the four (Fairness, Trustworthiness and Caring), then a row of two blocks on top of the three (Integrity and Teamwork) and then the Sportsmanship block. The "winner" on the top of the award stand is IESA and "Building Blocks To Success". The logo used by the Association that shows "IESA" inside the State of Illinois outline flanks the "winner". Representations of the sports and activities in which IESA conducts statewide competition occupy spots on the other steps of the award stand.

Cassidy Kingery will receive a certificate recognizing the merit of her entry. Heyworth Junior High School will receive the first banner using the winning entry. Last spring, as a sixth grader, Kingery was a member of the Heyworth 4 x 100-meter relay that competed in the Seventh Grade State Track and Field Meet. This fall she was point guard on her school's regional champion seventh grade girls basketball team. Kingery currently is a member of the Heyworth seventh grade girls volleyball team, and will compete again in track and field in the spring.

Several other entries were submitted that drew strong consideration from the committee. Those entries were submitted by Seth Carson, a seventh grader from Danville Oakwood; Andrew Girard, a seventh grader at Wenona Fieldcrest Middle School; Jonna Krone, an eighth grader at Wenona Fieldcrest Middle School; Dylan Geringer, an eighth grader at Wenona Fieldcrest Middle School; and Danielle Kalkwarg, an eighth grader at Wenona Fieldcrest Middle School.