1. The logo design contest is open to any Washtenaw County resident aged 23 and under. K-12 students and college students are strongly encouraged to participate.
2. To enter the contest, you must the form: https://link.washtenawsheriff.org/CELogoContest
• (A) An electronic version of your logo. The electronic version of your logo should be as high-resolution as possible (aim for at least 1200 x 1200 pixels for electronic images).
• (B) A short, written statement (no more than 250 words) explaining how your logo represents Washtenaw County and/or the values of the Sheriff’s Office. Please also include your name, age, and — if you are in school — which school you attend.
3. Contest entries are due at 11:59 PM ET on March 14, 2025. A winner will be announced in late March.
4. The logo should be in the form of a circular “seal” that can be used on business cards, letters, emails, and official communications.
5. No specific images are required. Be creative! You should, however, try to have your logo represent at least some of the values of the new Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office. Those values include:
Community
As an elected office, the sheriff’s authority and power are derived directly from the people we serve. This unique aspect of the sheriff’s role underscores that our legitimacy stems from the trust and support of the community we represent. We must hold this authority in the highest regard and always serve our community with the utmost respect.
Compassion
It’s important to prioritize empathy and compassion for everyone in our community—including coworkers and ourselves. Compassionate leadership starts with self-care and extending grace to others, even in tough times. By centering compassion, we create a trauma-informed workplace, which in turn enhances our ability to extend compassion to the broader community.
Safety
As first responders, we should dedicate ourselves to protecting and serving our community in ways that promote safer environments. We are at the forefront of ensuring that the people we serve are protected from harm. This includes supporting each other in this profession and empowering those we interact with to do the same. Safety isn’t just about responding to incidents or 911 calls; real safety is much bigger than that. It’s about building trust and peace through a culture of care and accountability—both at the sheriff’s office and in the broader community. It also requires us to not only react to safety concerns but to think critically about how to prevent them from arising when we are able. The safer our office and broader community is, the better positioned we are to excel in this profession.
Justice
We must acknowledge the real flaws in our systems, rooted in colonial histories that have often promoted using the legal system, as well as other societal systems, for racist, classist, and sexist practices—issues that we still grapple with in our profession today. This awareness has fueled generations of legal reform movements aimed at reducing harm, some of which can never be fully repaired. As law enforcement professionals, we must recognize how these realities impact both us and the people we serve.
Authenticity
We should all embrace transparency and courage. Be true to yourself and to the community you serve every day. In a world where professionalism can stifle honesty, embracing genuine dialogue and being your authentic self allows us all to learn from each other and fosters growth. This profession requires us to build trust —a goal we can’t achieve without remaining authentic to who we are, and with the people we serve.
Creativity
We embrace innovation and openness to new ideas. Each of us brings unique strengths to the table. Creativity is critical for effective public safety and can transform lives. It also helps us rethink our approaches when change seems impossible. Often overlooked due to the profession’s more militaristic structure, creativity has enabled forward-thinking strategies to keep communities and those serving in this profession safer. It should be embraced as an important tool for solving the complex problems we often face.
6. Logo contest participants are strongly encouraged to research policing, the law enforcement system, and the history and heritage of Washtenaw County, when creating your logo. Please tell us the results of your research in your written statement.
7. The logo should include image(s), as well as words indicating that it is the logo of the new Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Community Engagement Office. No exact wording is required. It can read, for example, “Washtenaw Sheriff’s Community Engagement Division,” “Washtenaw County Sheriff Community Engagement,” or something else.
The words, however, should be big enough to be legible, and must clearly indicate that it is the seal of the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office.
8. Both computerized images and hand-drawn logos will be accepted. If a hand-drawn logo is selected as the winner, we will convert it into a digital image that is appropriate to use.
9. Parents and guardians may help younger children enter this contest by (for example) explaining the rules of the contest, assisting them with research, and explaining to them how the law enforcement system and the Sheriff’s Office work. We ask, however, that entries into this contest be the work of the young person who submits it.
10. You may work with a partner or a group to enter the contest. But the prize money will still be $300, total.
11. Washtenaw County Sheriff Alyshia Dyer will have sole discretion to identify the winning entry, with input from her transition team and logo selection committee.
12. By entering this contest, you are giving the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office, Washtenaw County and Sheriff Alyshia Dyer full intellectual property rights over your contest entry. The winning entry will become the sole intellectual property of the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office.
13. The winning entry will receive a $300 cash prize. Washtenaw County Sheriff Alyshia Dyer expects to adopt the winning entry as the official logo of the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Community Engagement Division. In her sole discretion, however, Washtenaw County Sheriff Alyshia Dyer may decide not to use the winning entry as the official logo of the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Community Engagement Division.