"One in Spirit" wins slogan competition

"One in Spirit" has been selected as the slogan for the upcoming Samoa 2019 Pacific Games - a feat that surprised its creator, Maria Leota.

"I never thought in a million years I would win. I'm ecstatic. I'm honoured." Shared Mrs Leota.

The announcement of the winning slogan concludes a nation-wide search launched in late June. The competition attracted over 300 entries, with the winning slogan being selected by a judging panel.

"The panel selected One in Spirit because they felt it spoke to a range of people...athletes, supporters, sponsors; and our diverse Organising Committee responsible for coordinating the event." shared Falefata Hele Matatia, CEO of the Pacific Games Office.

"As a team and as a nation, we know that to deliver a successful games for our Pacific athletes, we will all need to be One in Spirit. It's a call to action, a value-driven statement, and it has a faith element which ties in well with our Games logo."

Mrs Leota shared that her idea came to her when she noticed a Facebook post by her friend. "Initially I looked at other peoples slogan and I thought everyone is missing the point. We are all Pacific people. And that's where the idea came from."

No stranger to the local sports community, Mrs Leota is a former manager of the Samoa Athletics Association. She is also founder and CEO of Kuki Samoa, an organic skin care range that takes a traditional approach to healing. Among Kuki Samoa's natural remedies is the Ginger and Turmeric Balm, which has been a hit with visiting sports team including the Fijian rugby team. 

Today Pacific Game Office CEO, Falefata, presented slogan winner Mrs Leota with a cheque for $250.00.