Ken Von Wald, Chairman of the Board of The Signage Foundation, Inc., has announced the appointment of Brian McNamara to the Board of Directors effective June 13, 2013.
The Signage Foundation Inc. is a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to fulfilling the educational, research and philanthropic purposes of on-premise signage. The Signage Foundation is committed to expanding the knowledge base on the use and benefits of signage products through peer-reviewed research to facilitate the operation within the marketplace by manufacturers, suppliers and individuals in their efforts to design, build and sell innovative products.
A 1982 graduate of the College of Charleston (SC), McNamara began his professional career as a Marketing Representative for the Xerox Corporation. After several years with Xerox, McNamara made a move to the not-for profit sector, taking a position in the Membership Department of the American Society of Association Executives. While with ASAE, McNamara was recruited by John Johnson, a long-time senior executive for the International Sign Association (formerly National Electric Sign Association), to take a role in the growth and development of the tradeshow programs.
McNamara’s start with the International Sign Association (ISA) in 1985 coincided with the earlier introduction of the Gerber IVb—the beginning of the explosive computerization and digitalization of the sign industry. While the industry was in transition, so was the NESA tradeshow program, which exploded both internationally and regionally in the late ’80s and ’90s: the industry was hungry for information about the new technologies.
In 1995, McNamara was gratified to see the technological changes recognized by the traditional electric sign industry when NESA became the International Sign Association. The explosive growth of the tradeshow and the association continued through, and outlasted, the extreme recession beginning in 2008. There is no end in sight.
McNamara retired from a full-time role at ISA in 2011, after 26 years of service. He continues to support the sign industry in any role that will continue the best interests of the industry.
In announcing McNamara’s appointment, Von Wald noted “the knowledge of the sign industry and the vast network of industry relationships McNamara brings to The Signage Foundation will be significant to the further development of strategic collaborations and resource development.”
