When St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Church needed a new monument sign as part of its 2014-2015 Vibrant Parish Project Campaign, it took a team effort between Valley Wide Signs & Graphics and Peachtree City Foamcraft to get the job done.
Valley Wide Signs brought in Peachtree because the project called for a foamcore monument sign. “We knew that Mike [Fetter] and his team would not only provide a quality product, but he would also help us work directly with the client to accommodate their diverse needs,” says Steven Gingras, president of Valley Wide Signs.
Working with the client was the biggest challenge on this otherwise straightforward project, as all the sign decisions had to be approved by the large, diverse group that made up the Parish Advisory Committee. In fact, seven months of this nine-month project were spent agreeing on design, colors, and size.
Gingras has some advice for reaching a decision when “there are more opinions than there are people involved.” He says, “Be very careful about trying to push a certain opinion upon them. They must get to their own decision as a group through all their committees and trying to push them to a decision will backfire.
“And be patient. Be very, very patient.”
Michael Fetter, sales manager at Peachtree, adds that it helps to find an ally in the group. “When dealing with a committee, always identify the person who has the personality to steer the group and keep them on task,” he says.
Valley Wide Signs created a design based on the architecture of the church. Once the committee approved it, they visited Peachtree’s facility to see the foamcore product firsthand and observe an impact durability test before Peachtree got to work carving the monument.
The monument’s letters were integral to the sign and were CNC-routed out of the foam. “[We] discussed using dimensional aluminum letters instead, but in order to stay within budget and get the size sign they wanted, it was decided to go with integral letters,” explains Gingras.
The entire sign was encapsulated in Peachtree’s Poly-Armor™ protective coating and painted with 100 percent acrylic, exterior latex PPG Pittsburgh Paint.
Valley Wide Signs installed the monument on the church property in three hours with two installers. “It was a direct burial of two aluminum posts that fit into a sleeve within the sign,” says Gingras. “It took about an hour to dig the holes with a walk-behind powered auger.”
By Ashley Bray
