Students’ artwork featured on 2021 Sentry Tournament of Champions face masks
KAPALUA — Lillian Lepak, a senior from Pacelli High School in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, and Kyler Strona, a fourth-grader from King Kamehameha III Elementary School in Lahaina, have been chosen as the winners of a mask design contest held by the Sentry Insurance Foundation.
The winning submissions will be featured on double-sided masks to be distributed during the PGA Tour Sentry Tournament of Champions event in Kapalua on Jan. 7-10, 2021.
The contest was open to K-12 students on Maui and in Stevens Point area school districts. Students were asked to design a mask that reflected their community and its culture from their point of view.
More than 220 entries were submitted and evaluated by local artists based on originality, creativity and overall appearance.
“In light of current times, the mask design contest was a fun yet meaningful way for us to support students in two communities we consider our home,” said Kalynn Pempek, executive director of the Sentry Insurance Foundation.
“The talent and creativity shown in all the submissions are truly inspiring.”
Lillian’s art features watercolor and line art that shows the quintessential components of Stevens Point –Schmeeckle Reserve, Green Circle Trail, the fountain on the square downtown and the Stevens Point water tower.
“I wanted to showcase areas of Stevens Point that everyone knows and recognizes, as well as some of my favorite spots in town,” Lillian said.
“I’ve always been into art, but I never thought I’d be designing a face mask, let alone win the contest. I can’t wait to see my design on the finished mask.”
Kyler’s design features a red background with a pineapple pattern and rainbow-colored letters reading “Aloha.”
“My inspiration for the mask was the Hawaii license plate, which includes Hawaii’s nickname, ‘The Aloha State,’ “ Kyler said. “Since we see a lot of rainbows in Hawaii, I colored the letters to show that. And I picked red as the background because it’s my favorite color.”
The masks, with Lillian’s design on one side and Kyler’s design on the other, will be provided to all players and guests at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Everyone wearing the masks will be reminded that they should wash them before flipping to show the other side.
In addition to showcasing the winners’ designs on masks at the tournament, the Sentry Insurance Foundation will make a donation in their honor to have a tree planted in the Pu’u Kukui Watershed Preserve on Maui and Schmeeckle Reserve in Stevens Point, respectively.
A charitable donation will also be made to their respective schools to recognize their winning submissions and each school that had students participate.