As Allied began to grow and business took off in the early to mid-1980s, the first really big investment that we made at our new home on Oakland Park Blvd. was to purchase a large sign out front. We wanted to be able to draw attention to our location, our business, our products and our services. But our sign was so big we were also able to add personal messages and quotes! We were able use our sign as an inspirational message center like the one that I had always admired.
Something you may or may not have noticed was that our sign is much larger than most other signs along Oakland Park Blvd. Lucky for us, at the time, the city code was not as strict on the size of signs! From the moment we got the sign we started sharing messages of inspiration and quickly found that the public loved reading the messages.
Because there was no Internet in the 1980s, I used to find quotes and proverbs to post in old calendars and books and encyclopedias. Can you imagine no Internet??!! And, we were always limited with the number of letters and words that would fit on four lines. Each line had a maximum of 13 letters. Often, we found ourselves changing famous quotes and sayings just to make them fit!
As the years passed, we found the quotes that we put up to be more and more meaningful. Not only would people call and comment about how we made their day after reading one of our quotes but when my partner and brother Joe and I would be out and about in the community, people would comment as well. Some folks stop in just to say thank you, and some say they go out of their way to drive by to see them regularly.
Several years ago we even received a call from a woman telling us that our sign saved her life. She went on to tell my brother David that she was about to take her own life that day, but after reading the quote posted on our sign, she changed her mind and realized that there were people that cared. This is incredible to me.
I will also never forget a call I got several years ago from then, Broward County Sheriff Al Lamberti. While driving by the showroom he looked up and saw our message. On this particular day there was a tragedy in the Sheriff’s department that involved another officer. Sheriff Lamberti was both angry and upset, but the voice mail he left reminded me how important it was to continue with our messages for everyone to read. The quote that day read "Those that anger you control you." He said that after reading the quote, he was able to change his attitude and realize the importance of the task he had before him.
About 6 years ago when we were working with the architect to design our new showroom, we actually designed around the sign. Knowing that what we had there was bigger than anything that we could put up with today's codes, we decided to keep the sign as it was so that we would not lose the tradition that we started many years earlier.
The sign has truly become a tradition for us at Allied, and not a week goes by when we don't hear a compliment from someone calling or stopping in to say how thankful they are for our messages and quotes.
Every week now, and for many years, David continues to change the sign on both sides. We get the quotes from everywhere – of course the Internet makes it a bit easier than the “old days.” We encourage people to send us meaningful quotes and we will try to use them! Our goal is to keep it light, try to make you think outside of the box, and put a smile on your face while driving by. Sometimes the quotes are more serious and as you can see, they have helped people along the way to realize how important and precious life can be. As a company, our culture is to try to look at the good in everything, share this perspective in every way we can, and hope that those we touch have a great day!
Stay tuned for my next blog post with some more incredible examples of how our signs have impacted others…