UPDATE: Voting is now closed. The on-line poll drew 26,396 votes over a two-week period. The results were as follows:
Hawai‘i, The Island State – 7,262 votes, 28%
Hawai‘i – Diverse But Unified – 6,238 votes, 24%
Aloha Spirit – 5,180 votes, 20%
Diamond Head – 4,183 votes, 16%
Surfing – Hawai‘i’s Gift to the World – 3,533 votes, 13%
Taking into consideration the results of the poll, the Hawaii Commemorative Quarter Advisory Commission submitted three recommended designs to Governor Linda Lingle. The design selected by the Governor also received the highest number of votes.
The final design depicts King Kamehameha I on the right side of the coin, with his hand stretching toward the eight main Hawaiian islands (the main difference between the two Kamehameha designs was in the narratives explaining the designs, so the commission combined the two themes: Hawaii, the Island State, and Hawaii, Diverse but Unified). The State motto, “Ua mau ke ea o ka ‘āina i ka pono,” (The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness) is in the lower left side of the coin. At the top of the coin are the words “Hawai‘i” and the year “1959,” when Hawai‘i was admitted to the Union.
“Our essence is tied to our host culture, the native Hawaiian people, and this gives us a chance to express that to the world,” Lingle said. “That’s what’s important: who we feel we are as a people, and not how visitors feel about us.
Commission Chairman Jonathan Johnson said the chosen design gives the people of Hawaii the opportunity to tell the world what is important to them. “What we see is the educational value, that people will say, ‘Who’s this guy, what’s this (motto) say and what are all these dots (islands)?”
The design will be submitted to the U.S. Mint where it will go for final approval. Hawai‘i’s Commemorative Quarter is scheduled to be released in the fall of 2008 and will be produced for 10 weeks. It is the last Commemorative Quarter to be produced, as they were produced in the order of each state’s ratification into the union. It is expected to be a popular collector’s item.
* * * * *
[ORIGINAL POST]
This message just came through to our offices:
Aloha all! Good news! Our final five designs were approved by the Secretary of the Treasury last week and our public opinion poll is up and running! Please see the news release below, which was just sent out by the Governor’s office. The poll can be accessed at: http://www.hawaii.gov/gov/commemorativequarter/vote. We are encouraging the public to submit their votes, but request that votes are restricted to one per person. The site will be up for two weeks.
My Aunty says, “Aloha Kakou…of course we like the surfer, but there is a sovereign choice!” So Kama’aina – click the link, vote while you can!
