Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands (Wednesday May 20th, 2009) - PPC announced the winners of its Mascot Competition at a prize giving ceremony held today at the Enid Capron Primary School. Talented student artists of the British West Indies Collegiate and the Enid Capron Primary School were awarded for their creativity in their participation in PPC's "Design a Mascot" Competition.
Raul Vazque Chairez, student of the British West Indies Collegiate designed the winning mascot. Colin Sterling came up with the catchy name, "Electro Gecko". Dwayne Hamilton and Marcus Lightbourne, both of the Enid Capron Primary School, were awarded Third Place and most imaginative respectively. Tyson Romulus of Eliza Simons Primary School won the second place prize.
In an unusual move, PPC will combine elements from the top two entries. The PPC team of judges was so impressed with the interpretations of both Chairez and Sterling that Chairez's winning mascot will bear Sterling's memorable name "Electro Gecko".
Last year, as part of PPC's move to improve and expand it's involvement in education, primary and high school students in the Turks and Caicos Islands were challenged to imagine, design and name a mascot- intended to become the friendly face of the company, using the gecko lizard as inspiration. PPC's engaging art competition was fun for these student innovators, providing space for them to express their creativity and participate in a high level corporate branding exercise. The team of judges had a difficult time selecting the top designs. The submissions were judged based on the level of creativity, originality and execution.
At the beginning of the competition, schools were given the opportunity to submit a list of useful, much needed items from which would be chosen the final prizes. The winners and their schools received among other things a desktop computer, Digital cameras and IPods from company executives. Impressed with the level of participation and skill, Allan Robinson, Vice President of Customer and Corporate Services congratulated the winners. "You could tell that the students put their all into this competition and we admire their creativity and imagination. We decided that we wanted to bring a young, fresh, original perspective on the design of our mascot, and that's just what we got! We hope that this art competition filled the kids with a sense of pride and hope that this competition will encourage other students to partake in similar programs in the future."
The Electro Gecko incorporating the PPC brand will be featured in many of the company's collateral, and the company's community initiatives. Over time it is hoped that the Electro Gecko will become synonymous with youth development and energy conservation practices, two important growth areas for the company.
Raul Chairez, winner of the Mascot Competition with The Electro Gecko.
