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Highlands Today

'Welcome to Highlands County'

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By JIM KONKOLY

Highlands Today

Published: June 19, 2009

SEBRING - By the end of August, Highlands County will have something it's never had before - billboard-size "Welcome to Highlands County" signs posted at the two main entrances to the county.

Measuring 20 feet wide by 10 feet high, the two identical signs feature bright colors, three-dimensional images, two silhouette figures, and images of the county's main tourist attractions.

Sebring International Raceway, so far, is the single biggest donor for this project, which will cost at least $9,000 for each sign.

Donations are still being sought from businesses and groups such as the Farm Bureau and Citrus Growers Association for this project, which was funded in part by Keep Highlands County Beautiful and grants secured by KHCB.

"This is a community-wide effort," said Maria Sutherland, a past chairman and current member of the KHCB board of directors.

Sutherland praised the design work on the welcome signs, done by Joshua Martinez, the graphic designer and director of creative services at Walz Ideation. This company is among the "family of companies" owned by Doug Walz.

Walz & Company, the group's main company, does construction. Walz said Walz Ideation provided a discount on Martinez's design of the signs, and that his construction firm, Walz & Company, also is supporting the "welcome sign" project.

"We're donating our time and services and whatever is needed for the county to get these signs put up," Walz said, referring to the building firm.

Members of the Keep Highlands County Beautiful board will officially present the "welcome sign" project to the county commissioners and the public at the July 7 county commission meeting.

No county tax money has or will be used on the welcome sign project, Sutherland said. Besides one grant, all other costs are being paid for with donations.

Sutherland said the hardest part of this project was picking which images would be put on the large welcome signs, which will both go on U.S. 27.

"I want to emphasize that there are a lot of sentimental icons and images in all of our communities," she said. Because only a few images could be put on the welcome sign, she said, "we picked the ones that represent the main industries, the major parts of the economy in of Highlands County."

Those major money-makers, she said, are: tourism No. 1, and then agriculture.

With the signs aimed at both welcoming returning tourists and attracting new visitors, the main images in the colorful collage are: the sunshine and a lake; a golfer, and race cars.

The two signs also have colorful images of caladiums, one orange with blossoms around it, and a black silhouette of a cowboy, representing agriculture. The other silhouette is of a golfer taking a swing.

"It enhances our county, it really does," said John Scherlacher, the tourism director for the Highlands County Visitor and Convention Bureau. "It shows what we are all about, and it highlights our industries."

Scherlacher said all nine members of the Highlands County Tourism Development Council were "very impressed with the sign" because it presents a bright, appealing image of the county.

"Signs like these are all about creating an image, and when you come into our county and you're greeted by a sign like this one, it impresses you," he said. "This type of sign says to you, 'Hey, this is a nice county.' Anyone coming in would be impressed with this sign."

A growing demand for environmentally friendly construction resulted in the two welcome signs being "sustainable" and energy efficient, Sutherland said.

The signs will be energy efficient because Progress Energy, which made a financial contribution to this project, will install photo-voltaic cells on the lights so that they automatically go on in the dark and turn off in daylight.

The Farm Bureau was among the groups which applauded the "sustainable" aspect of the signs.

"Each sign, we're told, will last 10 to 15 years, and there was concern that they be maintained so that, over the years, they remain bright and colorful and attractive," Sutherland said. Concerns about the welcome signs' sustainability have been solved, she said, with plans to clean the signs as needed and re-paint them when the bright colors begin to fade.

The welcome sign catching southbound visitors coming into Highlands County from the north will be set on U.S. 27 at County Line Road, at the Highlands-Polk county line.

For northbound drivers coming into the county from the south, the welcome sign will be on U.S. 27 about 10 miles north of the Glades-Highlands county line. This sign will be put up about one mile south of Sun 'n Lake Boulevard in Lake Placid.

Scherlacher said the grant will pay most of the costs for the two signs. The county Tourist Development Council is considering donating money so that the same welcome sign can be posted at other entrances to the county.

If enough funding is available, he said, the welcome signs could also go up at the Highlands County entrances on State Roads 70, 98 and 64, too.

Highlands Today reporter Jim Konkoly can be reached at 863-3867-5855 or e-mail jkonkoly@highlandstoday.com

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