Welcome to Highlands County

Highlands County's first welcome signs were completed last week.

The three dimensional 20 feet wide by 10 feet high signs incorporate elements of Highlands County including caladiums, golf, the cracker trail cowboy and race cars.

Keep Highlands Beautiful Board of Directors celebrated the completion of the signs with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Dec. 23 at the south sign near Lake Placid.

"We've never had anything like this before and we are very proud of it," said Christy Reed, Keep Highlands Beautiful director.

John Scherlacher, Highlands County's tourism director, also gave his support in the eight-month long project which was funded through grants and donations.

The project's directors have been actively working on the signs since May. The design work was done by Douglas Walz and Norb Walz, from Walz Ideation in Sebring. The construction cost for each sign was $10,380.

"The directors of Keep Highlands Beautiful had the vision of the sign and they are the ones who brought it to the place where it is now," Reed said.

Terry Collier, director of Keep Highlands Beautiful, gave a special recognition to the organization's board of directors and acknowledged Walz Ideation for their work in creating the final structure.

Scherlacher will request the board of county commissioners approve funding of one of the two signs through the county's tourist development tax on Jan. 5.

Taking part in the ribbon-cutting ceremony were: Keep Highlands Beautiful directors: Martile Blackman, Ken Wheeler, Thelma Pyle, Michele Roberts, Christy Reed, John Griffin, Jeff Carlson, Barbara Stewart, Mark Delaney and Terry Collier, Mary Tanner, Lake Placid Chamber of Commerce office administrative staff; Guy Maxcy, Highlands County Commission; Eileen May, executive director of Lake Placid Chamber; David Greenslade; executive director of the Avon Park Chamber, Scherlacher, Don Elwell, director of Sebring Chamber Executive Board, and Carl Cool, former county administrator.