6/16/2011 - 1:06 PM

20th Anniversary T-Shirt Design Contest Winner Announced

After dozens of artistic Louisiana Lottery players submitted designs in the corporation's 20th Anniversary T-Shirt Design Contest, the Lottery is pleased to announce the grand prize winner.  The design created by Cindy and Valerie Strecker of Slidell was chosen by Facebook fans as the winning artwork.  Their design will be featured on the Lottery's official anniversary T-shirt.

Other finalists were also chosen in the contest: Kim Stilger of Kenner and Jeff Welborn of Shreveport.  Stilger and Welborn will each receive a $500 prize for being named a finalist.

The Lottery launched its 20th Anniversary T-Shirt Design Contest in April featuring $2,500 in prizes. Three finalists were selected by the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge.  In June, Lottery Facebook fans were encouraged to vote for their favorite design to become the grand prize winner.

"The contest was a fun way to involve our players in our anniversary celebration and illustrate the cultural and fiscal contributions the Lottery has made to our state," said Lottery President Rose Hudson. "Social media has been an incredibly successful avenue for building relationships with our players, so it was only fitting for our Facebook community to decide our contest winner."

Each finalist was featured in a web video describing their artwork and the inspiration behind it.  For 11 days, Lottery Facebook fans viewed the designs and voted daily for their favorite.  Finalists were also encouraged to 'get out the vote' and share the page with friends and family.  In all, 1,500 votes were cast in the contest. 

The Lottery's anniversary T-shirt will be distributed in conjunction with the launch of its 20th anniversary collection of scratch-off games on Sept. 6, 2011, 20 years to the day of its very first scratch-off game, Louisiana Treasures.

"For 20 years, we have produced winning numbers that give Louisianans plenty of reasons to smile, including more than $2.3 billion contributed to our state," Hudson noted. "Even considering today's economic realities, the Lottery continues to exceed revenue projections while transferring 35 percent of sales to help fund K-12 public education. Our T-shirt design contest has been one way to thank our players who helped make it happen."

Louisiana Lottery games continue to be a popular pastime among adults. Fiscal year-to-date Lottery sales are up about 3 percent over 2010.

More information on the Louisiana Lottery's anniversary activities and a look back on its 20-year history can be found on its website. The Lottery can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.