By DON STINE
After more than 40 years, Ocean Township is proudly displaying its newly-redesigned logo.
“We love it and will soon be putting it up behind the council dais and on the podium. And, it is becoming a family legacy,” Councilwoman Donna Schepiga said.
The new township logo was designed by Robert Hazelrigg Jr., whose father, Robert Sr., designed the first logo in 1974. His new logo is divided into three segments, each containing either a cornucopia, oak leaves, or Indian feathers.
Hazelrigg Jr., 52, is a graphic artist and his father is an architect who still maintains his business in the township.
The new logo maintains some elements of his father’s original design, but it’s modernized, more colorful, and more true to what the township has become over the years, Hazelrigg Jr. said.
Mayor Chris Siciliano, knowing that Hazelrigg Jr. was an exceptionally talented graphic artist, decided that it was fitting to ask him to update the seal. The logo is used on township publications, at public meetings, and is even on the side of the township’s police cars.
“It is a great honor to follow up on my Dad’s original design. I think it’s great and who better to redo it than me. I certainly didn’t want anybody else to do it and I gave the new logo my own flavor to bring into a new era without losing its original brand,” Hazelrigg Jr. said.
He said modern logos need to be a bit simpler than older ones since they are used extensively on social media and Internet sites today.
“The old logo had a lot of things going on and something gets lost when it is used on social media,” he said.
Hazelrigg Jr.’s new design incorporates the oak leaves to represent Oakhurst, the cornucopia to represent the Wayside area, and the feathers to represent the Wanamassa section.
“I am extremely happy with my new logo,” he said.
The new logo also appears on the township’s 2016 calendar that residents should begin receiving this week.
Councilwoman Donna Schepiga said the calendar is a bit different from last year’s and contains even more information.
“It used to be mostly about recycling but this year it is also about property tax relief programs, online payment of bills, and other issues of interest to residents,” she said.
