Signs to be posted at county’s main entrances

Visitors to Warren County will now be greeted with an aesthetically pleasing and graphical representation of the community and what it is about, thanks to four new welcome signs recently donated by the Bridgestone Firestone Warren Plant.

The 10×5-foot signs were designed and constructed in Warren County using California Redwood, which was chosen because of its durability and weather resistance. According to County Executive John Pelham, the signs will be placed on the four main thoroughfares into Warren County, on Highway 55 from Manchester, on Highway 56 coming from Smithville, on Highway 70 coming from Woodbury, and on Sparta Highway from White County.

Bridgestone Firestone engineering department employee Tamara Cannon, who helped in designing the signs, explained how the project began after plant manager Ron Brooks attended a meeting where the idea of creating county welcome signs was raised.

‘With the county getting ready to celebrate its bicentennial, Ron was looking for a way to contribute to that in some way,’ Cannon said. ‘So the idea came up to do these gateway signs.’

Bridgestone employee Mike Rudicel sketched out some initial design ideas which were then fleshed out by Cannon.

‘As we moved forward, we decided it was going to be a much grander project than we had initially thought,’ Cannon said. ‘They asked me to do some different ideas for the signs and as we worked through that process, this is what we came up with, and we’re very pleased with the outcome.’

One of the signs incorporates Warren County’s designation as ‘Nursery Capital of the World,’ along with the image of a tree, and though all four have similar design elements, each of the signs is unique.

Former county commissioner Bill Zechman said the idea had been making the rounds for some time, but no one had taken the project on.

‘Some local interests, including the Chamber of Commerce, had discussed it a number of years ago,’ Zechman said, ‘but for one reason or another it was a great idea that just kind of stayed on paper. It didn’t actually come to physical fruition, as you see here. ‘

Zechman lauded Bridgestone Firestone for its community spirit in deciding to sponsor the project.

‘The thing I’m impressed about is, of course, the generosity and the community support of Bridgestone Firestone and their associates,’ Zechman said, ‘but also the fact that this is 100 percent made in Warren County, except for the redwood, the base material, which was imported from one of the Western states. All of the finish work you see, the design work, the CNC router work and the painting has been done in Warren County.’

Pelham said he is gratified with how all our local manufacturers have come forward in support of community projects and commended Bridgestone Firestone’s efforts.

‘This is just another example of how blessed we are to have Bridgestone Firestone in our community,’ Pelham said. ‘As we’ve stated before we’re certainly grateful for all of our existing industries and for everything they do in our community. We have just a wonderful corporate partner in Bridgestone Firestone. They see a need, they act.’