FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 15, 2008

Signage Foundation, Inc., Special Briefing on Effective Signage Builds Vibrant Small Businesses

On Tuesday, September 9, 2008, more than 30 small business advocates with leading roles in the public policy arena and representatives from business organizations whose members use signs joined the Signage Foundation, Inc., for a Special Briefing: Effective Signage Builds Vibrant Small Businesses. The Signage Foundation, Inc., sponsored the special breakfast briefing in the United States Capitol. Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) and Rep. Todd Akin (R- Missouri) participated in the briefing and reflected on their work on the House Small Business Committee. Reps. Chabot, ranking member of the House Small Business Committee and King addressed the group on the significance of signage in enhancing small businesses.

Joe Rickman, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Signage Foundation, Inc., addressed the assembly on the Foundation’s belief the future of a healthy and sustainable American economy is dependent upon the success of small businesses. He spoke of the commitment of the Signage Foundation, Inc., to provide quality research and education to assist entrepreneurs in launching and building their small businesses with great signs. The Signage Foundation, Inc., works to help create an objective, scientific base of knowledge on the safety and economic value of on-premise signage that will enable planners, small business advocates, policymakers and other stakeholders to come together to make informed decisions in the area of sign regulation.

The Signage Foundation was joined at this briefing by top leaders from the world-renowned University of Cincinnati College of Business and Planning. Joe Rickman and Dr. Will McIntosh, dean of the College of Business at the University of Cincinnati, announced collaborative plans for the 2009 National Signage Research and Education Conference, which will take place on the University of Cincinnati campus in October 2009. Dr. McIntosh told the guests at the briefing the Colleges of Business and Design, Art, Architecture and Planning at the University of Cincinnati have been in collaboration with the Signage Foundation, Inc., over the past six months to identify interdisciplinary strategies which align with the work of the Signage Foundation, Inc. Dr. David Edelman of the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning also participated in the announcement of the 2009 National Signage Research and Education Conference.

Mr. Rickman shared about how the Signage Foundation recently had an opportunity to celebrate both exemplary philanthropy and a vision to impact the dynamics of how society responds to signage with the endowment of two chairs. Jim and Sharon Weinel of Gemini, Inc., a leading family owned small business in the on-premise industry, donated funds to endow two departmental chairs at the University of Cincinnati. One chair is the James S. Womack/Gemini Chair of Signage and Visual Marketing in the College of Business. The second endowed chair, the Terry Fruth Endowed Chair, is committed for the College of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning.

The dedicated focus of these two academic chairs will provide interdisciplinary input which will align well with the on-premise sign industry , under- girding small businesses in America that are the barometer of our economic vitality.

The Signage Foundation, Inc. is a nonpartisan organization which was established in 2002 and views on-premise signage and storefronts as fundamental components of today’s mobile society's communication system and a necessity for the development of a visually pleasing, economically healthy and diverse community. The Signage Foundation, Inc. is a 501© (3) public foundation through its status as a “supporting organization” and its role to fulfill the educational and research purposes of the on-premise sign industry. The Signage Foundation, Inc. seeks to develop research, build partnerships, and educate the public and the regulatory community about the value of signage, the laws regulating signage, the human science factors involved in signage design and the public policy implications of sign regulations.

For additional information on the important work of the Signage Foundation, Inc review the Foundation’s website at www.thesignagefoundation.org or call 202.251.0624.

About SFI
The Signage Foundation, Inc. (SFI) works to promote signage in the societal sense, educating the public about its social, economic and aesthetic value to the at-large society, emphasizing to users how to maximize their communication effectiveness. The Foundation focuses on bringing education to sign users and to those who interact with sign users, including advertising agencies, lenders, appraisers, attorneys, regulators, business form franchisers and small businesses.

The Signage Foundation
P.O. Box 14392
Washington, DC 20044
Phone: 202-251-0624
E-Mail: joe@thesignagefoundation.org
Website URL: www.thesignagefoundation.org