
Pinedale Memorial
(Public/Civic Memorials Third Place Winner)
David Bott, CM, AICA
Mark H. Bott Co.
Ogden, UT
“We want a war memorial” was what we were told during our first meeting for this design. A county with less than 5,000 people who burst with pride for those who served our country, desired to erect a memorial in memory of each of them who live, or have lived, in their area. Those names, approximately 1,200, were collected and proofed by one man to insure the memorial was correct and complete.
Individual Monument
Third Place Winner
Robert Mattos, AICA
Bras & Mattos Monument Co.
Hayward, CA
A young man wanted a unique memorial for his father. We created a family tree with his father’s face carved into the stone. His son said his father was the rock of the family. The lettering for his father’s full name is carved on the stone in his native language.

Perry
(Companion Monument Third Place Winner)
Charlie Hunt, FAICA
Hunt Memorials
Nashville, TN
Mr. and Mrs. Perry were previous clients, having lost two children. But through the rain, Mrs. Perry has always managed to keep her positive attitude. One thing she has always said is, “Tomorrow is a new day, and the flowers always open in the morning!” So when she came to us at the loss of her husband, I knew their monument had to reflect how she lives her life…with quiet strength and a firm belief that the flowers will bloom in the morning. Their monument is an open bud. The broken texture acknowledges the dark days they have seen, but the beauty blossoms in spite of the brokenness. She saw this Strassacker bronze lily and loved it. To me, it epitomizes her quiet strength and willingness to bloom where she is planted.
Wojtaszek -
Puszkarski
(Family Monument
Third Place Winner)
Michael Feinberg, CM
Peter Troost Monument Co.
Hillside, IL
The customer had his own idea of the monument and most important was the figure of Jesus – known as the Divine Mercy. The monument was designed to make the hand carving the main feature of the memorial while the flower vases and the base course compliment the overall shape. It required two family names and the extra base allowed them to both fit nicely. The family name lettering is hand carved.

Gary Lee Crump, MD & Susan Jan Hauck (Single/Companion Third Place Winner)
Terry Joy, AICA
Joy Monument Co.
Louisville, KY
This unique memorial, a companion bench marker, was built for a very unique person. The family requested a way to display her image and her life passions: As a person whose profession was in law, her love of painting, gourmet cooking and playing tennis. Her marriage date and the names of her children complete her life story.

Karl Erik Bennett (Single/Companion Second Place Winner)
Branda Rasmussen and Cal Christensen
Quiring Monuments
Seattle, WA
Karl was autistic/savant and was a master of assembling all kinds of puzzles. All the pieces in the design were drawn to fit together and they represent Karl’s uniqueness. On each piece are the things Karl loved: weight lifting, prime numbers (1009 and 967), building things, playing the guitar and becoming an eagle scout. The mountains on his memorial are the view from his front door and he was especially interested in the ferries that he saw in front of his house. He played in a church band and the cross design is representative of the one he wore around his neck. He wrote a song, “The heavenly band just got a whole lot louder” and the first two bars are at the bottom of his memorial. A hand etched portrait completes the memorial tribute to this young man..
Plainview Memorial
(Public/Civic Memorials Second Place Winner)
David Bott, CM, AICA
Mark H. Bott Co.
Ogden, UT
This was approved and paid for by the cemetery board who requested to have one of the nicest memorials anywhere, and made form 100% American materials. And, it is; the granite, bronze and labor – all American made. We were given freedom to design and create this memorial tribute and we enjoyed working with one of the greatest committees to create this rewarding tribute to our veterans.

Leland Kip Anderson
(Individual Monument
Second Place Winner)
David Bott, CM, AICA
Mark H. Bott Company
Ogden, UT
Mr. Anderson loved Thomas Kinkade paintings and his children were thrilled to learn they could have a full-colored painting made in bronze and included as part of his memorial. The memorial fits the maximum requirement for the cemetery, so in order to include a vase we created an appropriate cut out. The boot is one of a 23 pair collection his daughters inherited, and was a natural fit for a vase.

Cronen (Companion Monument Second Place Winner)
Terry Joy
Joy Monument Company
Louisville, KY
This unique pedestal memorial contains a bench and a bronze planter. The memorial has been designed with multiple levels so that the family would have areas to place items at the grave site.
McGreevy -
Orlowski (Family Monument Second Place Winner
Jay Cunningham
Gast Monuments, Inc.
Chicago, IL
The monument features a cast bronze sculpture of Our Lady of Czestochowa (Madonna and Child) who is the patron Saint of Poland. The family provided a painting featuring the Madonna incased with a gold cover frame traditionally used to cover the painting on holidays. The family names are hand carved polished raised letters on the wings which are also cored for floral planters. Note the shamrocks under the McGreevy name for their son-in-law.

Lora Irvine Ilari (Single/Companion First Place Winner)
Terry Joy, AICA
Joy Monument Co.
Louisville, KY
Lora Ilari’s life revolved around her children. She was the mother of two and a teacher. Her untimely death left her two young children without their mother. We wanted to include them on her marker so their hand prints, portrait and handwriting were included in their mother’s tribute.
U.S. Armed Forces Memorial
(Public/Civic Memorials First Place Winner)
Billie Brown, CM, FAICA
Brown Memorials
Florence, SC
This monument is the central feature in a one acre veteran’s park. Each of the three monoliths has two bronze emblems on either side for a total of six branches of the service. The eight-foot wingspan bronze eagle signifies freedom sits atop this 30 tall memorial tribute to the U. S. Armed Forces.

Jordan Cline Nelson
(Individual Monument
First Place Winner)
Charlie Hunt, FAICA
Hunt Memorials
Nashville, TN
The project took over four years to complete. Jordan’s parents came to in to discuss the memorial to honor his life in 2004. While his loss took a toll on them individually, they worked together to see this project through. Jordan was their heart and their rock. Just as the heart is the center of the stone, Jordan was the center of their lives. The words to the song on the front tell of God’s grace and His ability to “make a perfect heart” and that was Jordan. In the midst of their brokenness, his perfect heart is whole and will always connect them. The back of the stone sees Jordan’s spirit like a dove rising to be with God. The base has a scattered collection of thoughts and symbols that flowed through Jordan’s life.

Pecen (Companion Monument First Place Winner)
Amber Crites
Caldwell Monument Company
Kokomo, IN
The Pecen family wanted something very artistic and unique to serve as a memorial for the couple. As a landscape architect, the Pecen’s son definitely preferred an art piece over a traditional “headstone”. They chose this piece with satin finished aluminum letters to compliment the cool tones of the stone.

Grand Prize Winner
Kern (Family Monument First Place Winner & Eugene H. Faehnle, FAICA Winner)
Peter Troost
Monument Company,
Jack Hallihan,
Beverly Christofaro
Hillside, IL
The Kerns wanted to incorporate doves into the monument design. This was their main concern. We chose to have a flock of doves sculptured in a position to reflect a rising together skyward. This non-traditional shaped memorial’s accent features all focus on the birds in flight.
2008 Design Contest
The Institute's 2008 Design Contest featured entries competing in five categories. Family Monuments, Companion Monuments, Single Monuments, Single/Companion Markers and Public/Civic Memorials. AICA Designers submitted photographs of their completed work to be judged in each category.
Each category completed for the grand prize, the Eugene H. Faehnle, FAICA Trophy, as judges selected a first, second and third place winner in each of the five categories. The first place winner in each category became a finalist for the grand prize.
Harold J. Schaller,
FAICA Award
Harold J. Schaller, FAICA Award recognizes “outstanding achievement in conceptual design” and honors one of the Institute most treasured charter members and a man who served as its Executive Director for many years. Harold Schaller is most often referred to as “Mr. AICA” by members of the Institute. Harold Schaller was a great designer, an accomplished artist and a great teacher of memorial art. He died at the age of 90 on September 25, 2004.
2008 HAROLD J. SCHALLER,
FAICA AWARD WINNER
Harrison
Designer - Amber Crites
Caldwell Monument Co.
Kokomo, IN
As a police officer and public servant, Tom Harrison was a presence in his community. His wife, Mona, wanted a memorial to stand out in the cemetery the way Tom stood out in the community. The Latin phrase on the bench was Tom’s favorite quote, paraphrased, “One bad apple spoils the whole bunch.” The blue stylized wav e emphasizes the importance of their vacations to the beach. This symbolic reference replaced a more conventional design approach. The polished finish and visual simplicity suit the couples’ style.
Copyright © 2010 American Institute of Commemorative Art,
Leland B. Longstreth, AICA, Executive Director,
8015 Van Ness Way, Indianapolis IN 46240
2009
1st Place Winners
2009
2nd Place Winners
2009
3rd Place Winners