by Maggie Fitzgibbon
She’s a homegrown girl with a creative hand. A Hilton resident and graduate of Hilton Central Schools, Shelby Billotti is the winner of the 2012 Hilton Apple Fest Logo Contest. A graphic designer by trade, Billotti works for a local commercial printer. She also is a freelance photographer.
“Design is my passion,” Billotti said.
“I’ve always wanted to enter this contest and I entered once a few years ago. But in the past, I’ve missed the deadline because submissions are due months before the Apple Fest,” Billotti explained.
Cathy Carmestro heads up the Logo Committee for the Apple Fest. She explained how this committee makes the Apple Fest logo selection.
“The committee reviews all the submissions and looks for logos that are crisp, clean and have a well-designed use of graphics and color. We look for logos that would appeal to children, men and women and will reproduce well on t-shirts, sweatshirts and other merchandise. We narrow the selections down to five logos and the board makes the final decision,” Carmestro explained. “Shelby’s design was selected because it clearly met all the criteria. This is the first time we used a logo with the color burgundy,” Carmestro added.
Billotti was surprised when she was notified by the committee that her design was chosen.
“I really wasn’t expecting to win, but it’s exciting to know my work was chosen,” Billotti said.
Creativity runs in Billotti’s family, she’s passed her imaginative gene on to her daughter.
“Next year, my daughter wants to enter this logo contest,” she said. Who knows, maybe Billotti will pass on the winning gene, too.
