STARKVILLE — Leah Frances Eaton didn’t know she had won the contest to design the new 2024 standard license plate for the state of Mississippi until a friend sent her a picture of a press release.

“I found out in the early spring, maybe early March, that I was a top five finalist,” Eaton said. “… I didn’t find out until the press release (Tuesday) that I had won.”

Eaton has been living in Starkville for the past 10 years. She owns a dance studio in the city and serves as a permanent substitute teacher at Henderson Ward Stewart Elementary School. But she said she has no formal graphic design training.

“Because I own a dance studio, I’ve designed programs for that,” Eaton said. “And I’ve done some stuff in Photoshop and Illustrator designing .. shirts for a t-shirt company. And then I served in a children’s ministry and designed things for that. So nothing official, in any capacity, but just kind of dabbled in design for the past five years.”

But when Eaton saw the license plate design contest on Facebook back in November, she decided to give it a shot, creating something clean and simple that includes the state flower.

“It’s been on previous license plates, so it was a little homage to the task,” Eaton said. “Just an updated version of that that was more modern.”

The state of Mississippi updates the image of the standard plate every five years, and drivers are required to apply for a new plate when the image is updated. The current plate, which has a gold background with navy lettering and “In God We Trust” inscribed in the center, was approved in 2018.

Eaton said the rules of the contest limited some of her design choices, as they required her to send in a design with a light background and dark lettering. She also submitted a green design, though her navy blue design won out.

Eaton’s design was one of 400 submissions to the contest. The winner was selected by the License Tag Commission, which included the Gov. Tate Reeves, Commissioner of Revenue Chris Graham, State Treasurer David McRae and Attorney General Lynn Fitch.

“We had so many fantastic designs submitted that it was really tough to pick only one winner,” Reeves said in the press release announcing the winning design on Tuesday. “The clear talent and creativity of Mississippians was well on display. We are excited to announce the new design and hope that drivers can enjoy showcasing it on road trips both near and far.”

The new license plates will start being issued in January 2024. Eaton said she was “shocked” to win, but she is looking forward to seeing her design on cars across the state and to getting one herself.

“We have a Mississippi State (plate), because I’m married to a die-hard State fan, and I have become a State fan,” Eaton said. “ … I guess it’s time to switch it out for a magnolia.”

Eaton became the second Starkville connection in recent years to design a state symbol. Graphic designer Rocky Vaughan co-designed the “New Magnolia” state flag, which began flying in 2020 after the legislature retired the old flag, which contained the Confederate battle emblem.