First United Methodist Church is proud to announce the unveiling of our new welcome sign, a project three years in the making!
The plan for a new sign began back in 2019 when congregational leaders and members decided it was time for an upgrade. Located off State Street next to Todd’s Creek bridge, the old sign was small and sat about 80 feet back from the road, making it difficult for visitors and newcomers to find their way from State Street to the church parking lot. First UMC member of 22 years, Suzie Kline, describes the process of designing and getting the new sign built.
“Once the Foundation Board of Directors said they would help to fund the building of a sign, that is when the wheels really started to turn,” Suzie says. “We started talking to various groups in our church and getting ideas. We talked with the Governance Board, the staff, and anyone else that had shown an interest in this sign. This larger group of groups became our committee”
After checking with the Building Department of West Lafayette to see what kind of sign could be built and where, the sign committee discovered that First UMC owned the new bridge across Todd’s Creek in the front of the property. They decided that would be a perfect place for the sign due to its high visibility. After connecting with several sign companies in the Lafayette and Indianapolis areas and analyzing cost, the committee settled on Huston Signs of Westfield.
“By this time, it was the beginning of 2020, and we were in lockdown because of COVID-19. We put the sign on hold and waited” Suzie says. “We continued to work with Huston Signs, but I could not convey my ideas to the designers by email. I used to draw houses for the National Homes Association and thought I could contribute with some gifts in that way. So, I drew an AutoCAD drawing of what we were wanting. On July 22, 2021, they sent back the perfect sign!”
Just as a design for the new sign had been solidified, church leaders began thinking about changing First UMC’s brand and logo. Using the July 2021 design, the committee asked Huston Signs to create a new contemporary sign using the church’s updated logo, fonts, and colors. With that, Design v15 FINAL was born! The new sign is 10 feet wide with a stone base and aluminum top. Each side has a three by eight-foot Electronic Messaging Center that can display moving graphics and multiple lines of text to convey service times and updates.
“No more going out into the bad weather to change the letters on the sign,” Suzie says. “Our church staff can change the sign’s messages from inside the church or even from their own home for times when services are called off because of the weather. We hope that this new sign is not only helpful to our staff, but to our visitors, too. Its placement and design will make the new sign much more noticeable to new-comers and passersby– day and night!”
First UMC would like to express our gratitude to the many people who have been involved with this sign process over the years. Thank you to Huston Signs, the Foundation Board of Directors, the Governance Board, the sign committee, and anyone that came up to ask questions throughout the process. Be sure to check out our new sign located next to Todd’s Creek bridge and stay tuned for more information regarding celebrations for the sign installation.
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