Millbrook buttons up for Rotary contest

MILLBROOK — Every year Millbrook Rotary asks elementary school and high school students to create and submit designs for the button to be used in the annual New Year’s Eve Millbrook. This year there was a special award to the youngest contestant yet to have her design used for promotion of the Monday, Dec. 31, event. At Millbrook Rotary’s annual Membership Mingle, the Rotary presented a certificate and a check for $25 to first-grader Laina Rodriquez for special achievement in the button contest for this year’s New Year’s Eve Millbrook button design. Alexis Loussedes, a senior last year at Millbrook High School, won first prize and her design will be used on the button. Art teachers submit the student designs to Rotary’s New Year’s Eve committee, which then votes on the stack of drawings without knowing the ages or names of the contestants. The committee thought that Laina Rodriguez’s design ought to be used in this year’s New Year’s Eve Millbrook publicity. Laina and her family were invited to attend the Sept. 26 mingle, where she and her design were introduced to the club and she was presented a certificate by club President Cindie Kish.