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Two Student Designs Chosen for “I Voted” Stickers
(Crystal A. Proxmire, Nov. 20, 2019)
Pontiac, MI – The Oakland County Board of Commissioners put out a call earlier this year, asking students to design the “I Voted” stickers to be given out at the polls in the March and August 2020 elections. Two winners were chosen, one from grades 6-8 and one from grades 9-12.
Walled Lake Freshman Penelope Blanchard of Novi drew the winning sticker for the high school category, which includes an array of women’s faces and tiny “I voted”s forming the circular frame of the sticker.” I drew eleven women from the decades 1919-2019 and wrote “I voted ” eleven times around the girls to represent each of their votes (them being able to vote),” Blanchard wrote in her entry.
Charlisa Penzak, a sixth grader from Birmingham Covington School, won for the 6-8 grade category with a drawing of women holding an “I Voted” sign and American Flag colors in the border.
“The inspiration for this piece was from an image that depicted women holding a sign that reads “Votes for Women”. My piece engenders this sentiment and includes the modern theme of diversity, by including women of different races and religions to show that all women deserve the right to vote,” said Penzak on her entry.
The theme for the contest was women’s suffrage, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote.When announcing the contest, County Commission Vice Chair Marcia Gershensen said “We’re excited to raise awareness among Oakland County students about the 70-year struggle women endured to gain the right to vote.  This contest serves as a reminder of all the women whose shoulders we stand upon.”  The County Commission also honored the movement in June with a giant flag on the side of the County Commission building.
Blanchard and Penzak were among 600 students who entered the contest from all across the county. The contest winners were chosen by Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds Lisa Brown and Oakland Schools’ Superintendent Dr. Wanda Cook-Robinson
In addition to seeing their art worn proudly by thousands of voters across Oakland County next fall, the winners each have the pride of a $1,000 prize provided by Cornerstone Community Financial Credit Union. The awards were presented at Wednesday evening’s County Commission meeting, along with a reception for the top entries.
For more on the contest, including runner-up entries, visit the Oakland County Commission website.