During a recent event held at New Stanley Elementary school in Kansas City, Kan., fifth-grade students Nicolas “Alex” Rincon, Diego Heraldez Dessens and Julian Bush were recognized as the winners of a contest for the design of an environmentally themed wrap for an Elgin Pelican street sweeper purchased by the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City. The sweeper wrap design contest was sponsored by Key Equipment & Supply Company, an Elgin Sweeper dealer serving the municipal and contractor market in Kansas, Missouri and Illinois since 1962.
“We were amazed by the creativity and originality of the designs the students submitted. It really made the judging difficult,” said Jeff Miles, vice president of Key Equipment & Supply Company. “But the artwork and messaging of the winning design really stand out.”
Mark Holland, mayor/CEO of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, congratulated the students for their accomplishment during the event. The newly wrapped Pelican sweeper bearing the winning design and the slogans “YOUR Small Steps WILL Save the Environment,” and “Throw YOUR Trash Away The CORRECT Way!” was unveiled to the school’s entire student body.
Steve Hyink, president of Key Equipment & Supply, and his team have developed sports-themed wraps for several municipal sweepers in recent years. With approval from the United Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Miles worked with Ryan Most, principal at New Stanley Elementary, to establish a design contest challenging the fifth graders to develop environmentally themed designs that would be used for the sweeper’s wrap.
To kick off the contest in mid-April, Miles spent time with the students at New Stanley Elementary, teaching them about the importance of street sweeping in preventing pollution and helping the environment. He also showed the students photos of the Pelican sweeper and explained important details on how their designs would be applied to the machine.
A total of 60 entries were submitted by students. Out of those entries, six designs were presented to the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City to make the final choice. Mayor Holland combined two designs submitted by three students to come up with the final wrap design.
“Not only is this wrap visible to everyone as the Pelican travels along its sweeping routes, it’s a source of great pride to the people in the community,” Miles said.
