MADAWASKA – Local residents and the University of Maine at Fort Kent community have been given new logos for Christmas.

The Madawaska Board of Selectmen approved the municipal logo at a Dec. 18 meeting. UMFK officials unveiled their logo at a Dec. 20 press conference .

The Madawaska logo was developed by bft International, a Portland consulting firm, for the 18-month-old Madawaska Economic Development Committee. The 15-person committee is headed by Selectman Cliff Chasse.

“If we are to market our community, we needed something to rally around,” Chasse said Friday morning. “We needed to build a logo that we can build equity upon.

“We want to make Madawaska a destination, not just a place to drive by,” he said. “We needed something we can built recognition upon.”

The Madawaska logo, in red, white and blue with gold, includes the Acadian tricolor flag with the gold star of Mary in its center. In white letters at the top is “The St. John Valley,” and “Acadian River Community” is across the bottom of the flag. The word “Madawaska” is emblazoned in white across the center of the logo.

The logo will be part of the Greater Madawaska Chamber of Commerce Web site. It will be printed on all municipal stationery and will be attached to “Welcome to Madawaska” signs located on U.S. Route 1 east and west of town.

The logo design, according to Chasse, cost less that $1,000, with the money coming from a development fund that uses money from interest generated by loans made to developing businesses.

“We wanted to focus on our Acadian heritage and culture,” Chasse said. “That’s why the Acadian flag is the focus of the logo.

“We can use this in an effort to promote the town nationally and internationally,” the selectman explained. “It gives us something concrete to start our efforts in the new year.”

The economic development committee selected the logo from three designs submitted by the consulting firm.

The UMFK logo, developed by a local committee and a Brewer design firm, Terelar, was done at a cost of about $3,000, according to Jason Parent, UMFK university relations director. Terelar is owned by two Aroostook County natives, Theresa Ayotte of Presque Isle and her husband, Larry Ayotte of St. Agatha.

The gold, white and green logo, the colors of UMFK athletic teams, is bilingual, focusing on that mission of the campus. The design shows two green hills, separated by a white winding river with a gold crescent representing a bridge. It is overseen by a small gold sun at the top.

“The joy of the logo is that different people will see slightly different things,” Interim UMFK President Donald Zillman said in a press statement “We hope that all will understand the green hills, the winding river, the bright sun and the bridge that unites nations and cultures.

“The logo is reflective of our natural environment and our distinctive location and culture,” Zillman stated.

The bridge component of the logo, and the reason for its inclusion, inspired the campus’ new slogan, “UMFK: The Bridge to Your Future.”

The UMFK logo is the result of an 18-month effort. Three original logo designs developed last year did not elicit the positive response campus officials wanted, so work was started anew this past fall.

“We needed something more modern,” Parent said. “This fall we took into account the feedback we had received on the previous designs, contracted with a new firm, and came up with the accepted logo.”

Parent said most of the other campuses in the University of Maine System have developed their own logos, except for the University of Maine at Augusta.

The UMS board of trustees voted nearly two years ago that each campus develop its own unique image.

The UMFK committee included Zillman and Parent along with Linda Zillman, the interim president’s wife; John Murphy, vice president of administration; Brad Ritz, chairman of the natural and behavioral sciences division; Anthony Gauvin, computer science instructor; Wendy Kindred, art professor; and Scott Voisine, director of student services.