Cooper River Bridge Run names official winning design for 2021 race

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - For the first time, the annual Cooper River Bridge Run design contest has a two-time winner.

The design was created by Joseph Wilhite, a graphic designer, from Goose Creek, according to Race Director Irv Batten.

The 2021 contest marks the first time there has been a two-time winner, Batten said. Wilhite also won the 2020 design contest.

Wilhite said he wanted to do something different with this year’s design in light of 2020 being “a pretty rough year” for everyone.

“COVID-19 affected my life just as it affected everyone else’s, so I wanted to kind of inspire a little bit of hope,” Wilhite said.

He said he chose a Monarch butterfly as a symbol of hope, then jazzed up the design with South Carolina’s state flower, the Yellow Jessamine, along with Magnolias.

“I even put the date in concrete so that way it can’t be changed hopefully for 2021,” he said. “And I wanted to make it look just as you were coming in Mount Pleasant. Welcome to Charleston, the all American city.”

Wilhite, a native of Sarasota, Florida, moved to the Lowcountry after serving in the United States Marine Corps.

The winning design will be featured on Bridge Run posters, t-shirts and other promotional products throughout the year.

The 44th Annual Cooper River Bridge Run is scheduled for March 27, 2021.