Students’ artwork featured on Tournament of Champions masks

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Two groups of people standing for a picture for a tree planting ceremony

Two people standing during the tree planting ceremony

Students won the 2021 Sentry Tournament of Champions mask design contest

STEVENS POINT, Wis. and KAPALUA, Hawaii (May 28, 2021) – The Sentry Insurance Foundation conducted two tree planting and donation ceremonies over the past week to honor the winners of the mask design contest it held for the 2021 Sentry Tournament of Champions PGA TOUR event held on Maui in January.

The contest invited K–12 students in both Maui and Stevens Point-area school districts to submit designs that would be featured on double-sided masks handed out during the Sentry Tournament of Champions. One side represented Stevens Point and the other Maui.

On May 20, Sentry hosted a ceremony honoring Lillian Lepak, the Stevens Point-based winner at the Schmeeckle Reserve. Lillian planted a Wisconsin sugar maple tree in honor of Kyler Strona, the Maui-based winner of the mask design contest. The following week, on May 25, Sentry hosted a ceremony honoring Kyler at The Bay Course at Kapalua on Maui, where Kyler planted a tree to be placed at the Pu’u Kukui Watershed Preserve in Lillian’s name.

At the ceremony in Stevens Point, Lillian, a high-school senior, said having her mask chosen and seeing it worn on national television led her to realize that art has a role in her future.

“I was starting my senior year—not a clue what I was going to do. Every time I would look at a major or a career path, I was like, ‘I don’t know. That doesn’t seem very fitting to me,’” Lillian said. “After creating the design, a lot of people were like, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re really good at this—you should try to do something like this in your future.’ I also met a graphic designer and several artists—they all helped inspire me to do something like this in my future.”

This fall, Lillian plans to pursue a degree in digital marketing, with an emphasis on graphic design.

As part of the mask design contest, the Sentry Foundation donated $3,000 to each student’s school, Pacelli Catholic High School in Stevens Point on behalf of Lillian, and King Kamehameha III Elementary School on behalf of Kyler.

At the Kapalua ceremony, Kyler, a fourth-grade student, talked about seeing his mask worn by players and volunteers at the Sentry Tournament of Champions as well as having the opportunity to meet Xander Schauffele, a top-ranked player at the PGA TOUR event.

“It was so cool because I never thought that people would be wearing stuff that I designed,” Kyler said. “Meeting Xander in person was amazing because my dad’s pretty into golf—I’m going to start getting into golf—but it was pretty cool to meet a professional golfer.”

Sentry created the initiative to further deepen the bond held between Stevens Point and Maui—and showcase their respective communities and cultures—as a part of the company’s sponsorship of the Sentry Tournament of Champions.

Learn more about the mask design contest below.

Sentry Foundation face mask design contest showcases community, cultures of Stevens Point and Maui.

STEVENS POINT, Wis. and KAPALUA, Hawaii (Dec. 2, 2020) – Lillian Lepak, a senior from Pacelli High School in Stevens Point, Wisconsin and Kyler Strona, a fourth grader from King Kamehameha III Elementary on the island of Maui, have been chosen as the winners of a mask design contest held by the Sentry Insurance Foundation. The winning submissions will be featured on double-sided masks to be distributed during the PGA TOUR Sentry Tournament of Champions event on Maui, January 7–10, 2021.

The contest was open to K–12 students on Maui and in Stevens Point area school districts. Students were asked to design a mask that reflected their community and its culture from their point of view. More than 220 entries were submitted and evaluated by local artists based on originality, creativity, and overall appearance.

“In light of current times, the mask design contest was a fun yet meaningful way for us to support students in two communities we consider our home,” said Kalynn Pempek, executive director of the Sentry Insurance Foundation. “The talent and creativity shown in all the submissions are truly inspiring.”

Lillian’s art features watercolor and line art that shows the quintessential components of Stevens Point—Schmeeckle Reserve, Green Circle Trail, the fountain on the square downtown, and the Stevens Point water tower.

“I wanted to showcase areas of Stevens Point that everyone knows and recognizes, as well as some of my favorite spots in town,” Lillian said. “I’ve always been into art, but I never thought I’d be designing a face mask, let alone win the contest. I can’t wait to see my design on the finished mask.”

Kyler’s design features a red background with a pineapple pattern and rainbow-colored letters reading “Aloha.”

“My inspiration for the mask was the Hawaii license plate, which includes Hawaii’s nickname, ‘The Aloha State,’ Kyler said. “Since we see a lot of rainbows in Hawaii, I colored the letters to show that. And I picked red as the background because it’s my favorite color.”

The masks, with Lillian’s design on one side and Kyler’s design on the other, will be provided to all players and guests at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, set to be the first major sporting event on Maui since the COVID-19 pandemic started. Everyone wearing the masks will be reminded that they should wash them before flipping to show the other side.

In addition to showcasing the winners’ designs on masks at the tournament, the Sentry Insurance Foundation will make a donation in their honor to have a tree planted in the Pu'u Kukui Watershed Preserve on Maui and Schmeeckle Reserve in Stevens Point, respectively.

A charitable donation will also be made to their respective schools to recognize their winning submissions and each school that had students participate.