1 of 2
Erica Techo
Katie Jernigan from Knight Eady Sports Group presents the new branding for VHHS.
2 of 2
Erica Techo
School board president Nathaniel Robin reads a few words at his final Board of Education meeting on May 18, 2016.
Vestavia Hills High School now has a few new marks to represent its brand. The marks, which were part of a branding package put together by Knight Eady Sports Group, were approved by the Vestavia Hills Board of Education at its May 18 meeting.
Knight Eady was hired by the board in August and tasked with a rebranding effort at Vestavia Hills High School. The full branding package was released to the school’s faculty and students as well as the public on Friday, May 13, and a presentation on the package was given during the May 18 board meeting.
“I do want to say we’ve taken a lot of pride in this project within our office and have spent a lot of time, a lot of hours on it, and are very proud of the work and the professionalism we’ve had throughout the entire process, and [we] just appreciate the opportunity,” said Michael Eady, Chief Marketing Officer for Knight Eady.
Katie Jernigan, public relations and digital media coordinator for Knight Eady, presented the new marks for VHHS and explained some of the information included in the 34-page brand style guide.
“The brand style guide is basically the framework for how the brand will be used and implemented and moved forward, just kind of rules of engagement for these new marks,” Jernigan said.
Jernigan added that the rules for using the brand marks are not intended to stifle people’s usage, but rather to protect the integrity of the brand and ensure the marks are only used in a proper manner.
The inspiration for the new marks came from VHHS’s history as well as input from community members, Jernigan said.
“Really what we want to do is focus on how everyone that is a part of Vestavia Hills High School really has a compelling story about what it means to be a Vestavia Hills High School Rebel,” Jernigan said.
The first mark Jernigan discussed is a new addition to the VHHS brand, the institutional mark. The mark includes a blend of the letters V and H and utilizes negative space.
“This helps really represent innovation, forward thinking, and this is one that will serve as the primary mark for the school, really in any capacity,” Jernigan said.
Jernigan also discussed the activities mark, a VH that is similar to previous logos used by the school, and went over how head football coach Buddy Anderson’s well-known statement, “When you play one Rebel, you play us all,” influenced the 1REBEL mark and other potential marks for the school.
There was no public comment regarding the new branding, but a few board members had questions for Knight Eady. Board President Nathaniel Robin thanked the Knight Eady team for their hard work and said the board was impressed with the result. He also asked about the cost of the rebranding, which Robin said some people have asked him about.
Michael Eady said while each project is different, the price of the new branding efforts was a good deal. In response to Robin’s question, board member David Powell noted that in many marketing efforts, it would have cost more than $30,000 — which was the school board’s payment to Knight Eady — to simply create the website for the brand.
Going forward, Knight Eady will continue to work with the board of education and the community to trademark the new marks and open them up for others to use on sellable products.
The May 18 meeting also marked Robin’s final meeting on the board of education and final meeting as BOE president. Before adjourning the meeting one final time, Robin thanked the other board members for their hard work, thanked Superintendent Sheila Philliips and former superintendent Dr. Jamie Blair for their leadership and said the last five years have been an honor.
Robin also spoke to what he called a “vocal minority” of the community, a group that he said has worked to find conspiracy or hidden agenda in several of the school board’s decisions. While that group might be operating with the best of intentions, Robin said it has created an adversarial climate between the community and the school board, and he assured that group the school board has no nefarious goals.
“There is no hidden agenda, there is no conspiracy,” Robin said. “… We serve the interests of all of Vestavia and all of their children.”
Also at the meeting, the board:
- Recognized several students for academic achievements, including Vestavia Hills High School’s We the People team, which placed in state and national competition this year, and student Matthew Kenny, who will participate in a scholarship exchange program in Germany for the 2016-17 school year.
- Recognized athletic teams and individual athletes, including the VHHS girls’ tennis and soccer teams, both of which won state titles this year; VHHS track team members Walter Thomas, Henry Barrett and Will Macoy; swimmer Anna Moers; and individual golf state champion Austin Coggin.
- Heard updates on several construction projects in the district, including plans for increased parking at Vestavia Hills High School, the expansion at Liberty Park and a roofing project at Pizitz.
- Heard the financial statement for the month of April.
- Approved a contract with Brian’s Carpet and Tile, Inc. The contract is for tile and carpet in several Vestavia schools, and is in the amount of $49,410.
- Approved a contract for cafeteria tables for Liberty Park. The contract is in the amount of $50,841.71.
- Approved a revised job description for Director of Special Education Services.
- Approved a 4 percent pay raise for all Vestavia Hills City Schools employees.
- Approved officers for the upcoming year. Mark Hogewood was elected as president, Nancy Corona was elected as vice president and Superintendent Sheila Phillips was elected as secretary.
