Teen's race experience inspires winning logo

The local girl's design will be used on T-shirts, hats, pins and other souvenirs.
By JEANNE STARMACK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CANFIELD -- Jamie Berndt didn't necessarily want to be an artist.
But when the 16-year-old Sperone Court girl tried her hand at it, she turned out to be very good.
And as for the entry she drew for the All-American Soap Box Derby 2006 logo contest -- well, it turned out to be a winner.
"She should be very proud," said Jeff Iula, general manager of the derby, a race in which kids buy kits and build their own cars. "I've been general manager for 30 years, and it ranks as one of the neatest logos I've ever seen."
Contest details
Jamie, a Canfield High School sophomore, won the contest, the derby's first, the day before Thanksgiving. Iula said derby officials had narrowed the field at that point from 73 entries to five. Contestants ranged in age from 12 to 18.
The Akron Beacon Journal ran a contest in which readers could vote for their favorite out of the five finalists. Around 400 out of 1,000 votes came in for Jamie's design, which features a soapbox racer rolling down an American flag that's curved to resemble a track.
"And of our staff, 10 of us, we felt hers was the best one," Iula said.
On Thanksgiving morning, the Akron newspaper, a derby sponsor, announced that Jamie was the winner.
Her logo, Iula said, will be used on jackets, hats, pins and T-shirts for the derby's 69th running in summer 2006.
"The logo gets used for quite a few things," he added.
Jamie said her own experience as a derby racer inspired her design. She was a rally champion this year who qualified to compete in the Stock Rally World Championship July 30 in Akron.
She was first runner-up in that race.
"I got the idea 'cause at the finish line, you can see the cars coming down [the track]." she said. "But I wanted the American flag in there."
Jamie said she has been in soapbox derby racing since she was 8, when her dad, Dave, found out about it from an acquaintance.
She said he also encouraged her to enter the logo contest.
Dave Berndt said he found a notice about the contest when he happened to be on the derby's Web site looking up rules.
When he encouraged his daughter to enter, he said, she thought it sounded like a good idea.
"She worked on it for three weeks," Berndt said, though his daughter had never taken art classes or expressed an interest in a graphic arts career.
"I never was into drawing that much," Jamie said. I decided to do it 'cause I race and I know soapbox stuff."
Jamie said that now, she just might consider a career in art.
Iula said Jamie won about $750 worth of prizes, including a gift basket from the Beacon Journal, a $100 gift certificate to use anywhere she wants, a plaque with her logo on it, and a ride in the Goodyear blimp.
starmack@vindy.com