Signs for Colleges and Universities in Virginia

May 6, 2016 By Mark Hackley

Signs for Colleges and Universities in Virginia

So how in the world did Augusta Sign Company become involved in providing signs for colleges and universities in Virginia?

When I began my career in signage, I first worked in the sign shops of good-sized military facilities in Maryland: The National Naval Medical Center, and Andrews Air Force Base. These bases were essentially little cities of their own, and I quickly excelled at keeping the “business” citizens happy with their signs. In this setting the customers were managers of the Commissary, the Officer’s Club, the Rec Center, the Hospital, the University, the Research Center, the Air Terminal, Security, Roads and Grounds, you get the picture…very similar to my customers now in the civilian world.

Colleges and Universities are also like mini-communities: having their own internal security operations, buildings and grounds, engineering, marketing, library, rec center, houses of worship, administration, etc. One customer that I have helped since my days at Tree Street Signs is Eastern Mennonite University. This past year I have helped them with many projects: Branding a section of their new Science Center; Fabricating more than 20 light-pole banners as part of an ongoing rebranding; Changing the logos on their wayfinding sign system; Lettering the entrance to their Library. Over my entire career in signs, collegiate and healthcare customers have been my favorites. I typically work with facilities managers or marketing people and there is always lots of work to be done as they strive to keep their campuses looking great and well-branded. I’ve also managed sign projects with Ferrum College and Shenandoah University in Virginia.

If you need help with signs for colleges and universities in Virginia, give me a call anytime!

Mark Hackley is owner of Augusta Sign Company in Waynesboro, VA 540-943-9818

FREE VEGETARIAN COOKING CLASS IN WAYNESBORO, VA

March 2, 2016 By Mark Hackley

Nothing to do with signs, guys, but if people aren’t healthy in Waynesboro and Augusta County, they won’t be able to read signs, so in that respect it may be of interest!

The Waynesboro Seventh-day Adventist Church will present a free, informal two-hour vegetarian cooking class Sunday, March 6, 2016 from 3 to 5 PM at 1700 Lyndhurst Rd., Waynesboro, VA.

Presenter, Alina Ehrlich, will explain the nutritional value and health benefits of vegetarian cooking. Attendees will be encouraged to ask questions and taste samples made prior to the event. Recipes will be given to all attendees.

Please call 540-949-7291 or 703-915-9115 to RSVP.

Truck Lettering Project for a Quality Waynesboro, VA Builder

February 1, 2016 By Mark Hackley

Truck Lettering Project for a Quality Waynesboro, VA Builder

I completed my first vehicle graphics project in my new shop today. It was a truck lettering project for a quality Waynesboro, VA builder, Westhills Company. Owner, Carl Kerby, chose Augusta Sign Company to brand his new Chevy Silverado and I was I able to letter the doors and tailgate of the pick up truck in an hour.

The project began several weeks ago when I submitted full color, scaled design concepts to Carl for feedback. After several rounds of tweaking things we came up with a final design: one that incorporated the Westhills logo and included the company phone number and website. The doors had trim pieces that minimized the area for signage and we had to work around that. Previous sign companies in Waynesboro used stock vinyl for the graphics, and the colors were not necessarily exact matches to Westhill’s logo colors, specified by their designer. Augusta Sign Company chose to digitally print and then cut the graphics from 3M high-performance vinyl for two reasons:

3M material offers a 10-year expected performance life;
Exact Pantone Color match possible upholding logo color specifications.

Pick Up Truck Signs (2 doors and tailgate) typically range in cost from $175- $775, depending on materials, complexity of designs, and size of fleet. Simple designs, minimal type, and standard vinyl colors would cause a project to fall in the lower ranges, and more complex designs, gold leaf, shading, outlines, clear-coating, etc., would cause the project to fall in the higher price zones. Usually Augusta Sign Company’s design fees are included in the overall price.

I’ll be looking for the Westhills truck out on the street. Fresh, bright, colorful vehicle graphics are an effective and economical way to promote your brand in the community you serve…every day!

Mark Hackley is the President of Augusta Sign Company of Waynesboro, VA 22980

Contact: mark@augustasigncompany.com 540-943-9818

Here’s a link you may find interesting. It’s a 3M site that shows many examples of vehicle wraps and other vehicle graphics projects:

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_EU/BrandingSolutions/Home/CaseStudies/Application/VehicleGraphics/

We Build Church Signs in Waynesboro, Staunton and Augusta County, VA!

January 27, 2016 By Mark Hackley

We Build Church Signs in Waynesboro, Staunton, and Augusta County, Virginia

I had the opportunity to help Westminster Presbyterian Church with updating their identity as they welcomed a new pastor. Wanting the buildings and grounds to look their best, the church committee chose to upgrade the signage as part of other buildings and grounds updates.

Here are a few pictures of how I was able to transform the old signs in a cost-effective way into new, higher impact signage…

All done right here in Waynesboro, VA! Please join the list of area churches who trust me with their signage…

mark@augustasigncompany.com

Thanks for a Great Year of Signs

December 20, 2015 By Mark Hackley

Thanks for a Great Year of Signs

2015 was great! I started the year off as blogger/marketer for a really great custom electric signage manufacturer, Holiday Signs of Richmond, then in mid-June I switched to a full-time businessman once again after a 15-year sabbatical from owning a sign company. My only goal was to be happy, unstressed, and passionate about helping other businesses meet their unique marketing goals with signage, while generating a sufficient cash flow to pay the bills at home with my wife Jennifer, who was also starting her new career as principal for a small Christian school at about the exact same time!

I give all the credit of the success of this new venture to God, who led me to my talent years ago and then has led me back to my passion, which is owning and operating a small custom sign business in a great area: Waynesboro, Virginia which is centrally located to easily serve a 90-mile radius footprint of communities including:

Waynesboro
Harrisonburg
Winchester
Charlottesville
Richmond
Staunton
Roanoke

God has allowed me the health, the resources, the customers, the vendors and the mental and physical strength to once again operate my own business after 15 years, and I’m so thankful to Him for putting this opportunity back in my life.

I’d like to throw out a very special thanks to my step-son, Alex Springer for helping me develop this great website! Remember that I was born in the early 1960’s so computer stuff has always been a struggle for me. Learning to paint signs the old-fashioned way and then having to evolve into computer design and computerized bookkeeping was tough, but I’m glad I survived it. I’m also glad I recently learned how to blog, learned how to sell digital signage, and I’m also glad I was able to master other forms of digital marketing…but web site design was not on my list of great accomplishments! So, again, many thanks to Alex for all his help in jump-starting me back into business.

Thanks also to all my many customers and friends who have been so supportive in getting me back into business. I’m looking forward to a great 2016! If I can help you with any of the following services in the years ahead, please reach out anytime:

Entrance Signs, Directional Signs, 3-D Signs and Letters, Hand-Painted Graphics and Repaints, Routed, Carved or Sandblasted Wood Signs, Gold Leaf, Vehicle Graphics, Window Lettering, Banners, Displays, Bronze Plaques, Parking Lot and Safety Signs

Here are some interesting articles from 2015:

How Long Do Cedar Signs Last?

Can Sandcarved Signage be Implemented into Wayfinding Systems?

Sign Companies in Verona, VA? Augusta Sign Company Serves That Market!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Mark Hackley, Owner of Augusta Sign Company

501 W. Magnolia Avenue

Waynesboro, VA 22980