HILTON HEAD, S.C., Nov. 5, 2017 — In collaboration with the Hilton Head Island Concours d’Elegance & Motoring Festival, Michelin today announced the winners of the Michelin Junior Challenge Design Competition, “Le Mans 2030: Design for the Win.” The special competition is an extension of Michelin’s global challenge, an annual engagement since 2002. The competition was open to students of Beaufort County, S.C., and was designed to encourage students to learn about the automotive industry in the state of South Carolina.
Entries by individuals and teams of students were reviewed and selected by a distinguished jury of the world’s top automotive designers and industry experts: Ed Welburn, retired chief designer for General Motors; Ralph Gilles, head of design for FCA; Paul Snyder, College for Creative Studies in Detroit; and Ben Ebel, Michelin Challenge Design program coordinator for Michelin North America.
A top design was selected from each school, with scholarships awards of $500 for individual entries and $250 each for team entires. The overall winner also earned a $1,000 scholarship for her school. The winning artwork was on display at the two-day motoring festival in Hilton Head.
The winning entries were as follows:
- Bluffton High School – Elaine Guo (overall winner); Decker Paulmeier and Drew Lee (judge’s choice award)
- Battery Creek High School – LeLis Jamil Cruz Ramirez, Gabrielle Alise Huggins, Annette Patricia Burkey.
- Beaufort High School – Lucas Cato, Tyler Schaffer, Kyleik Middleton
- Hilton Head Boys & Club – Micala Carreno, David Hernandez, Clairbel Arrendondo
- Hilton Head High School – Bryan Velasquez, James Kellam, Emily McPherson, Frank Thomas Delong, Maximus Weitekamper
- May River High School – Marcicarmen Madrid Recinos
- Whale Branch High School – Stephen Triplett and Darius Andrews
“We were excited to present the 2017 Michelin Challenge Design competition to high school students in the Low Country with our partners at the Hilton Head Concours,” said Ebel said. “We wanted students to learn about the world’s greatest endurance race, the Le Mans 24 Hours, and also to dream about potential careers in the automotive industry in South Carolina.”
“The Hilton Head Concours is honored to partner with Michelin on this pilot program,” said Carolyn Vangel, president, Hilton Head Concours d'Elegance & Motoring Festival. “This outstanding initiative supports our charitable mission to educate children on the opportunities in the automotive industry. The entrants were impressive and we look forward to building this program in future years.”