Saint Anselm College business students are promoting the New Hampshire Presidential 
Primary in the Fourth Annual Common Man Apprentice Competition. And the public is being asked to vote on whose t-shirt does it best.
Four teams of Saint Anselm students have moved to the second round of the competition. A panel of four judges selected the winning designs from those of 12 teams who presented their efforts Oct. 19, at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics Auditorium. The winning teams were selected because of their design, marketing plan and presentation.
Students now are showcasing their designs in a “general election.” The designs can be examined and votes 
cast online at www.votecommonman.com.
In past years, the Common Man Apprentice Competition pit Professor Thomas Fitzpatrick’s marketing classes against teams of Plymouth State University business students. The charge was to create a dessert for the Common Man restaurants, and the winning confection earned a place on the menu.
This year, the competition has a new twist. The students were asked to design a t-shirt with a message about the importance of the state’s presidential primary. Four winners 
were selected from each school. When the votes are in Nov. 9, the winning Saint Anselm and Plymouth State team will work together to merge their design into a new logo.
While the product is different, the competition still gives students hands-on business experience. Students also are getting lessons in civic engagement as they immerse themselves in the history of the primary and politics in New Hampshire.
Meredith Shephard ’09 said she registered to vote after this project made her realize how important it was. Common Man CEO Jason Lyon said “students really did their homework, visiting the New Hampshire primary exhibit in Concord and calling upon all the resources 
available to them on campus.”
The Commoners kept its winning design simple. “We wanted to express New Hampshire’s values and morals in the logo, while also including both the Democratic and Republican parties,” Andrew Woodford ’09 said.
The t-shirt with the final design will be mass produced and sold. A portion of the sales will go to Kids Voting in NH, a program of the New Hampshire Political Library in Concord.
Photos, from top right:
The Commoners, with Common Man CEO Jason Lyon, left,Andrew Woodford, of Westford, Mass.; Michelle Beaton, of Norwood, Mass.; Ashlee Bailey, of Hampton, N.H.; Christie Telge, of Manchester, N.H., and Brett Cardinal, of South Hadley, Mass.
Team Victory, from left, Richard Paradis, of Bristol, Conn.; Lauren Matias, of Framingham, Mass.; Jason Olsen, of Monterey, Calif.; Stephanie Pacheco, of Wilmington, Mass., and Michael Wojtas, of Dracut, Mass.
The Primary Team, from left, Declan Crozier, of Toomebridge, Northern Ireland; Alyssa McClure, of North Conway, N.H.; Katrina Frazer, of Nashua, N.H., and Deirdre Driscoll of Walpole, Mass.
Team Vote!, from left, Sara Stanton, of Warwick, R.I.; Ryan Stone, of Bourne, Mass.; Tom Cullen, of Peabody, Mass., and Steph Duval of Hanover, Mass.