Editor's Note: Voting will take place the first three days of school, Monday, Aug. 23 through 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 25. The public is also welcomed to vote, but they must do so in-person at the school administration building located at 325 N. Commercial in Eagle Grove during these dates only. One vote per person. Students will vote during school hours.
When the Eagle Grove Area Community School District decided to redo their websites this spring, at the suggestion of the winning designer, Chris Struyk (an EGHS alumnus) they decided to also look into making modifications to the school’s Eagle logo as well.
“What we currently have is very close to what the Philadelphia Eagles use,” explained Eagle Grove Superintendent Jess Toliver. “If you’re getting close to infringing on copyright issues, you need to mitigate your risk and develop something that’s your own.’
“As a school district, we need to demonstrate good citizenship,” added Lance Lennon, technology coordinator for the district.
That doesn’t mean, however, that there won’t be any choice in the matter. In fact, there will be three.
“If people are satisfied with our current logo, there is a logo that is very, very similar to that. You could make that change and nobody would know the difference,” said Toliver.
However, it is different enough that it takes away the infringement issue.
But, as long as the school district is taking this opportunity to address the issue, they will also provide two other options explored by a committee made up of teachers, administrators, and community members, that they feel are worthwhile to also consider.
Toliver and Lennon also noted that the Eagle we have right now as our logo is very similar to many other “Eagle” mascot schools in our conference. They noted, however, that just because “we” will change our logo, whether it’s minor changes or something completely new and different, that doesn’t mean the other schools will change our logo that hangs in their gym. For that matter, the logo won’t even change in our gym, or on our uniforms, immediately after the vote. Instead, Toliver clarified that the new logo will be updated in the normal rotation of uniforms. The logo on the elementary gym floor will change when it is time for normal repairs/redoing.
Students and staff will vote electronically using their school Google account so as to monitor that there is only one vote each. The public is also welcomed to vote, but they must do so in-person at the school administration building located at 325 N. Commercial in Eagle Grove. Paper printouts of the three options will be available to look at, including what the new logo might look like on a football helmet or a shirt. When the individual has made their decision which one they like best, they will place a paper vote (no name required) in a box. Only one vote per community member is also allowed. If you belong to the Eagle Grove Area School District and would like to vote, but are out-of-town, you may also email your choice to llennon@eagle-grove.k12.ia.us
Voting will take place the first three days of school, Monday, Aug. 23 through 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 25. The winning logo will be announced by the end of the day and also found on the school’s website. They will then use the new logo for the 2021 Eagle Grove High School Homecoming t-shirt design, which will be sold and distributed by the Golden Stars Drill Team.
The goal is to have the new website operational after the winning logo has been announced. The website will be ADA compliant and “much more user-friendly,” according to Lennon. It is designed for both mobile and desktop devices.
