January 2010 Hot Button Winners
Congrats to our
January 2010 Hot Button of the Month Winner!
January's Hot Button of the Month Contest Winner is…Alvin J. McRoyal, Jr. from A McRoyal Company in Las Vegas, NV. Alvin's "Evolution of a People" buttons were used to promote his newly started gift and novelty business. "My wife works with the System of Higher Education in Nevada and each month a different nationality is celebrated at that diverse institution," said Alvin. "Using buttons inthis manner is a unique way to acknowledge these occasions."
Alvin explains the meaning of each person pictured on the button:
- Harriett Tubman was a former slave who helped some 300 other slaves escape before serving as a scout and spy for Union forces in South Carolina during the Civil War.
- Frederick Douglass was an American abolitionist, women's suffragist, editor, orator and author in the 1800s.
- Marcus Garvey founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) in Jamaica in 1914, and brought it to the United States two years later.
- Rosa Parks is famous for standing up for Equal Rights in the Montgomery Bus Boycott - in 1955, this African-American woman refused to give up her seat on a city bus to a white man and was arrested for violating the city's racial segregation ordinances that mandated that blacks sit in the back of public buses and give up their seats for white riders if the front seats were full.
- Martin Luther King Jr. lead the March of Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963.
- Malcolm X, an influential leader of the NOI (Nation of Islam, replaced his surname with an X to signify his rejection of his "slave" name. He was shot to death in 1965.
- In 1974, Shirley Chisholm became the first major party African-American and the first female candidate for United States President.
- Colin Powell, as Chairman of United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, played an integral role in planning and executing the first Persian Gulf was under presdient George H.W. Bush. He was appointed Secretary of State in 2001.
- Condoleezza Rice, succeeded Powell, becoming the first African-American woman to serve as Secretary of State.
- Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States in 2009 - the nation's first black President.
We had a hard time choosing this month's Hot Buttons - we got so many fantastic entries! Congratulations to all of our Hot Button winners! And if you entered, but didn't win, please - don't give up! Your next design just could be a winner.
The new year has brought with it lots of opportunities for button makers. Elections are taking place. Causes need to be supported. School teams deserve to be recognized. And of course, sometimes you just need to express an opinion. As always, button possibilities are endless!
As you make those unique buttons, don't forget to share! Keep those entries coming in! You could be one of our next winners! Remember, the more unusual, the better! Each Hot Button winner receives a coupon for 10% off their next purchase at Badge-A-Minit.com.
The new year has brought with it lots of opportunities for button makers. Elections are taking place. Causes need to be supported. School teams deserve to be recognized. And of course, sometimes you just need to express an opinion. As always, button possibilities are endless!
As you make those unique buttons, don't forget to share! Keep those entries coming in! You could be one of our next winners! Remember, the more unusual, the better! Each Hot Button winner receives a coupon for 10% off their next purchase at Badge-A-Minit.com.
At Brown & Gay Engineers in Houston, TX, employees are involved in a variety of different clubs. This button, submitted by Michelle Florence, represents the Green Committee, one of seven different clubs. "We wanted to draw attention to the different organizations represented within our company," said Michelle. "So we designed buttons for each." Everyone who belonged to one of the organizations got a button to wear at a recent meeting. "It was a big hit and conversation starter," said Michelle. Other clubs that were represented by buttons included the MS150 Bike Riders, Civil Discourse (Toastmasters), Sandcastle Team, Bandits (softball team), Give A Stitch (charity knitting) and Women's Bible Study. What a great way to promote your interest!
Danial Turner fom Lindenwold High School in Lindenwold, NJ, submitted this button. "We always go to the marching band competitions and see all the 'promo' stuff - but when we showed up wearing this button, everyone was impressed!" Daniel said. He made buttons for all the band moms and they wore them proudly, no matter where the kids came in at the competition. (By the way...the Marching Lions took first place! Could it be the buttons????)
When the local quilt guild needed a membership badge makeover, Karin Harvey from Columbus, OH turned to buttons! "Each badge has the member's name in the center of a quilted-looking star shape," said Karin. "The star always appears on a black background, but the colors in the stars are varied in the interesting color combinations that quilters like." Karin notes that the badges are easy to read and wear well. New members enjoy receiving their offical badge when they join, and it helps everyone to learn each other's names. The badges also serve to identify the guild staff when they put on local quilt shows.
Allison Seibel of Portland, OR, just loves her cat and this button proves it! "I'm not much of a people person, I'm more of a cat person," Allison said. "Since I love my Badge-A-Minit and buttons, I decided to make a button to show my love of cats over people." We think that's a purrfect button.
Kim Kell of Nashville Community High School in Nashville, IL (you thought I was going to say TN, didn't you?) submitted this POSI-teen Week 2010 button. "Every year our school honors students for being positive, upbeat, good people," said Kim. "Instead of ribbons to wear, like we do for Red Ribbon Week, the students receive buttons. This year, we purchased button making equipment to save expenses for the school." The school held a contest and the motto "Reach for the Stars, even if you have to stand on a cactus." was the winner. A senior student created the design and the buttons were distributed to students in January.
Here's a unique idea - a 10th wedding anniversary tour! Heidi Burton of Tipp City, OH, designed this button for her sister and brother-in-law's 10th anniversary. They traveled across the country to celebrate and thus it because the 10th Anniversary Tour! "The couple sported their buttons on clothing and luggage, and had extra buttons to hand out as they traveled," said Heidi. "They had a great time and were thrilled to have a 'theme' for their special time together and to share with others."
This "Hope for Haiti" button was submitted by Lindsay Jones of Elk River, MN. "Our corporate-owned local restaurant started a fund to contribute to the Red Cross in its efforts to help the victims of the Haiti earthquake," said Lindsay. "Unfortunately, they didn't have to time to put together much signage to promote the fund, so I created buttons for the employees to wear to help solicit donations!" The buttons are working - and the fund is growing. They even sold a few of the buttons to the customers!
Diane Medlock of the California State Horsemen's Association in Woodland, CA, developed these buttons for one of their special events. "Each contestant in a Trail Trial is assigned a unique number to supply the obstacle judges with," said Diane. "Contestants love the buttons because they affix solidly to clothing or saddle bags, judges love them as they can easily see the number of each contestant, and scorekeepers love them as it has cut down on the number of mistakes when a contestant gives an improper number." The button also serves as a ride souvenir and collectible item. The Ride in Euer Valley has become one of the most popular events because of these keepsakes, said Diane.