MEMBER FOCUS

Area C Logo Contest Winner

New logo connects Area C to nature

Before Isabela Telles and Jesse Tamayo even thought about designing their winning entry for Area C’s recent logo contest, it seems they had already arrived at the same conclusion: Area C is beautiful. “We talked about the beautiful scenery along the highways and freeways in Area C,” said Jesse Tamayo of Monterey-JC Crumpton Chapter 93, a student records specialist at Monterey Peninsula Unified. “It’s a beautiful place to be. You get the ocean, the green fields of crops that feed the world, from the Silicon Valley to the beautiful Redwood Forest.” When Tamayo met Telles, of Gilroy Chapter 69, at Super Session, they began talking about the contest and sharing their thoughts. Slowly but surely, their idea for the logo came to life. Telles then took those ideas home and began creating their contest entry. “We incorporated nature into the logo as much as possible without making it look super busy,” said Telles, a senior staff secretary at Gilroy Unified and chapter vice president of Gilroy Chapter 69. “The road signifies Highway 101, which runs through California and the trees signify all the beautiful land we have.”

Isabela Telles won the Area C Logo Contest with nearly 50 percent of the vote

New Area C logo

Nature is one of the well-known attractions of Area C, but it has also always been a landmark destination for CSEA members – both old and new. The Association was founded in Area C in 1927 when a group of Oakland custodians came together to secure retirement benefits for all school employees, not just teachers. Area C is also home to CSEA headquarters, which Telles kept in mind while designing the logo. "I really tried to look at Area C and blend different elements into one design,” Telles explained. “I really hope that people are proud of it and that they feel represented through the logo.”

Jesse Tamayo, Monterey-JC Crumpton Chapter 93

CSEA announces winners of Areas B and E logo contests

Area B Director Colette Hetland and Area E Director Carmen Alessandro tapped into the creative energy, passion and excitement for the work happening in their respective areas by recently holding contests for members to design new logos for their areas. The goal was to have members create logos that can be used for many years to come and incorporate elements that represent their area. The Communications Department provided logo guidelines to help members get started. From there, members submitted their ideas. The top three submissions were selected by the Communications Committee and the area directors. Then, each area’s members had the opportunity to vote for their favorite one. The winning Area B logo was unveiled at their Leadership Institute in April, while the Area E logo was unveiled at the May Board of Directors meeting. Meet the winners of the logo contests and view their winning logos by watching the videos below.

As a member-governed organization, CSEA empowers members to take ownership and pride in their union with contests such as this one. After incorporating elements from Tamayo and Telles’ Super Session brainstorm, their final design was one of three logos featured in Area C’s contest. Voting on the logos was open to all CSEA members in the area. And after 903 total votes, their logo ended up receiving the most with 386 tallies or 42.75 percent of the vote. “The democracy of our organization gave us the chance to give feedback and create something as beautiful as this,” said Tamayo, who also serves as regional representative for Region 81, among other roles. “And then to have members vote on one of the ideas brought to us, that is how we, as members, have a say and vote for what we want.“ Member empowerment is one of the unique characteristics of belonging to the nation’s largest union of classified school employees. As we slowly turn the chapter on what has been a challenging two years, CSEA remains strong because of our strong member engagement. “Contests like this help keep members involved by letting members vote, which really gives them a choice,” said Linda Figone, president of Gilroy Chapter 69. “It really shows how member driven our union is.”

Check out the video for the full interview with Area C Logo winner Isabela Telles.

Delta Valley 821

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