Signs of the Times - August 2017 - 25
SHOP OPS and Rick Ream began to assess the situation. While the fiberglass portions of the letters were still in decent shape, the plywood backers that held the letters onto the bridge were rotten and falling apart - definitely not the part of the letters you want to fail! The LED wiring was also crispy and broken, showing open gaps in the insulation. We knew the effort of removing these letters and performing a massive overhaul would still leave us with difficulties in protecting the wiring from future sun damage. And we'd still have the same old look of the same old letters with pinpoint LEDs around the edges. But we priced it all up for them anyway. However, instead of sending just that refurb contract to them, we took it upon ourselves to design and quote a brand-new set of all-aluminum channel letters with white faces that would light fully, rather than merely outlining the letters with light. And it just so happened that both options carried the same price tag. (See what we did there?) This, along with the fact that we could change out the letters in one day, without ever having to remove the sign for an extended time, prompted the Expressway Authority to jump on the new opportunity. However, before we signed contracts, Orlando's Mayor, Buddy Dyer, posed the question: "Can you guys make these letters full-color LEDs so that we can change the colors for different events?" Oh, yes, we can! Enter Everylite's Crystal RGB SIGNSOFTHETIMES.COM 25