Advisory Council
Adam OrtegaLuminous Neon Art & Sign Systems | Hutchinson, Wichita, Salina, Topeka, Lawrence and Kansas City, KS
About Us: We are a full custom sign manufacturing company.
Mission/Values: Luminous Neon is dedicated to serving
- Our customers with products and services that exceed their unique requirements.
- Our employees with fulfilling employment opportunities in a quality, safe working environment.
- Our vendors with mutually rewarding, professional relationships.
- Our communities with company resources.
- Our stockholders with a fair increase in long-term equity.
Fun Fact About Your Business: We designed an oversized basketball hoop and attached it to the top of a large monument sign to commemorate the first round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament occurring down the street.
Favorite Project or Signage Trend: Sign Trend is starting to use more dimensional layer and mounting to different materials my favorites are more modern looks (Martin Pringle Law (wood sign with FCO’s) / Fee Insurance two dimensional FCO’s mounted to a marble wall and some Interior plex stand-off signs with mounted FCO’s).
Number of years in the industry: 95 years
Advice to others in the industry: Do the right thing for others and the right things will happen for you.
Craig McConnellMiller McConnell Signs | Ottawa, CAN
About Us:
Meet Craig McConnell, the owner of Miller McConnell Signs and a sign industry expert with over 30 years of experience. After completing his university degree in Chemistry, Craig began his career in the sign industry with a franchise. In 2000, he and his business partner, Jim Miller, made the decision to strike out on their own and establish an independent business, which has since become known for its exceptional design and signage solutions.
Craig’s primary focus is on interior building signage and interior wall decor. Over the years, he has worked with a diverse range of clients, including retail stores, hotels, restaurants, and other businesses that require eye-catching and effective signage solutions. Although some of his favorite projects cannot be discussed due to confidentiality agreements, Craig takes great pride in every project he works on and is committed to delivering outstanding results for his clients.
In addition to his work with Miller McConnell Signs, Craig recently launched a new brand, wallsizzle.com, which specializes in custom wall art. This new venture reflects Craig’s passion for creating unique and personalized design solutions and demonstrates his commitment to staying on the cutting edge of the sign industry.
Craig’s advice to others in the industry is to surround themselves with an exceptional team and never compromise on quality. By putting these principles into practice, Craig has built a successful business and established himself as a leader in the sign industry.
Dana DuncanSummit West Signs | Mesa, AZ
About Us: Schools, Multi-housing, Municipal, EMC’s
Mission/Values: Deliver Amazing!
Fun Fact About Your Business: Our company logo was flown at the top of Mt Kilimanjaro!
Edward DeZuzioButler Sign Company | Wayne, NJ
About Us: Full Service Electric Sign Company
Mission/Values:
Do what’s right for the project.
Do what’s right for the client.
Do what’s right for Butler Sign Company.
Favorite Project or Signage Trend: CMX
Number of years in the industry: 43 Years
Advice to others in the industry: Business classes and art classes or the study of theater will be very helpful. Never stop learning. Never.
Jess TitusThe Sign Center | Haverhill, MA & Norwood, MA
About Us: The Sign Center is your premier full-service exterior and interior commercial sign designer, fabricator and wide format digital printer. Under current ownership since 2001, The Sign Center has been providing businesses with superior signage, design and installation since 1961. With locations in Haverhill, MA and Norwood, MA, the team of experts at The Sign Center are conveniently located to serve the Boston area and surrounding communities as well as western MA and southern NH. Whether a single sign, or a multi-location project for a corporation or institution, The Sign Center is the only answer for signage needs.
Mission/Values: The Sign Center has been fabricating interior and exterior signs for over a half century. The vast scope and repertoire of The Sign Center allows our team to meet the unique needs of every client, no matter the size, budget, or visual landscape. Whether a single sign, or a multi-location project for a corporation or institution, The Sign Center is committed to getting your business noticed!
Fun Fact About Your Business: We have been fortunate to have our signs throughout the Boston area and have shipped as far as Qatar!
Favorite Project or Signage Trend: Each and every project, large or small, brings daily diversity to our various production departments. We enjoy site/branding build-outs for regulatory, informational and branded signage. However, a client’s exterior signage is the first thing customers see for a business and we enjoy being a part of that “first look”. One local client, Lawrence General Hospital, we have worked with for years across their campus. We enjoy seeing how our creativity and expertise carries from the exterior monument signs to the interior ADA signage.
Number of years in the industry: The Sign Center has been fabricating interior and exterior signs for over a half century (60+ years!).
Advice to others in the industry: Be committed to your clients and exceed their expectations!
Paul Beichert
Timely Signs of Kingston, Inc. | Kingston, NY
About Us: We offer concept to completion design/build solutions for interior and exterior signage and recognition systems for banking, education, healthcare, private businesses and not-for-profits.
Mission/Values: The mission of Timely Signs is to differentiate ourselves from our competition by creatively meeting the challenges of our customers. We do this by providing quality signage, recognition products and services that enhance our client’s image and add value for their customers.
It’s our goat to create a work environment for our employees that encourages and rewards creative thinking and productivity so that we can achieve our goals of growth, financial stability, quality of work, quality of life, and service to our clients and our community.
Fun Fact About Your Business: We are a 3rd generation family business celebrating our 50th year in 2023.
Favorite Project or Signage Trend: Designing, building, shipping and installing 125 year timeline for Aspen Valley Hospital in Colorado. My wife and I flew out and installed it in one day.
Number of years in the industry: 22
Advice to others in the industry: Value your time and stand behind your product no matter what.
Tim Harrelson
The SignChef | North Charleston, SC
Tim Harrelson was destined to become one of the leading experts in the sign industry. With over 36 years of experience working with local & national brands, he has accumulated a lifetime of experience & knowledge. Tim’s expertise and innovative approach to sign manufacturing has been featured in Charleston’s Post & Courier Newspaper and National Sign Magazines including Signs of the Times. Tim continues to share his insights helping businesses & organizations of all sizes navigate the complex world of custom signs.
About the Sign Chef: TheSignChef.com provides America’s Most Durable Signs & 3D Letters.
Forever-Grade Signage™ stands in a category above the rest by offering a level of durability & quality that is unmatched in the sign industry. The peace of mind that comes with our Lifetime Replacement Warranty is one of the most significant benefits of choosing Forever-Grade Signage.
Our Forever-Grade line of sign products includes:
- Indoor Signs
- Outdoor Signs
- Internally Illuminated Channel Letters
- Plastic & Metal 3D Letters
- Metal & Plastic Dimensional Logos, and
- Cast Bronze & Aluminum Plaques.
Fun Fact About Your Business: I was 26 years old when I started my first sign company in 1987. My first employee was Bob Allen, a local sign painter. Bob would create colorful hand sketches for customer approval and then hand letter the MDO boards. Some of the sign boards took 1-2 days to complete. We can now print those same signs within minutes. It’s been an amazing technological journey growing up in this industry!
Number of years in the industry: 36
Advice to others in the industry: Gemini’s capabilities are vast. I recommend learning Gemini’s entire product line, inside and out. The main difference between Gemini’s authorized dealers is product knowledge. Expert product knowledge helps us better serve the interests of our clients.
Mission/Values: As the original founder & CEO of TheSignChef.com, I’m excited to share the exciting and true story behind our unique brand name, Sign + Chef. It all began with my love for creating custom signs that are like works of art. I wanted a name that reflected this passion and reflected our commitment to quality and attention to detail.
The inspiration for our unique brand name came to me one day when I was watching a show featuring Chef Gordon Ramsay. I was struck by the similarities between a Master Chef and a Master Sign Craftsman. Both require creativity, attention to detail, and a commitment to excellence. Just like a Master Chef takes the time to carefully select the best ingredients and craft each dish to perfection, a Master Sign Craftsman takes the time to select the best materials and techniques to create a custom sign that perfectly captures the essence of your brand.
The combination of these two words, “Sign” & “Chef,” reflected our passion for creating custom signs that are like works of art. We wanted a name that would stand out in the industry and that would reflect our commitment to quality and attention to detail. So we decided to call ourselves TheSignChef.com.
The name was an instant hit and it quickly became synonymous with our commitment to quality and our unique approach to creating custom signs. We worked hard to build a reputation as a company that takes the time to get to know our clients and their unique needs. We don’t just churn out cookie-cutter signs like some other companies; we take the time to create a custom sign that perfectly reflects our clients’ vision.
We’re proud to say that the SignChef brand was approved for a registered trademark by the United States Patent and Trademark Office on August 5, 2003, and is still active to this day. This trademark is a testament to our commitment to quality and our unique approach to creating custom signs.
At TheSignChef.com, we take the time to get to know your brand and your unique needs, and we work with you to create a custom sign that perfectly reflects your vision. From the initial consultation to the final installation, we’re here to make sure that your custom sign perfectly captures the essence of your brand and leaves a lasting impression on your audience.
So if you’re looking for a custom sign that is both visually stunning and perfectly captures the essence of your brand, look no further than TheSignChef.com. Our unique brand name, Sign + Chef, reflects our commitment to quality and attention to detail. Let us be your personal SignChef and together we’ll create a masterpiece that will leave a lasting impression on your audience.
Favorite Project or Signage Trend: At TheSignChef.com, we recently had the pleasure of creating a highly customized sign display for Conch Custard, a delightful ice cream shop located in Marathon, Florida. While I usually prefer the clean sharp lines of injection-molded letters and solid Acrylic plastic letters, for this project, we decided to go with the round-faced formed letters to better compliment the customer’s brand image.
To give this sign display a delectable touch, we used custom-formed letters and a colorful logo graphic that was UV printed on a custom-shaped Acrylic substrate. Gemini custom painted the Ice Cream & Italian Ice flat Acrylic letters to match the colors of the logo. The flat Marathon, Florida lettering was painted to match the custom-formed Conch Custard letters.
After cutting the custom Acrylic shape on our router table, we mounted the dimensional elements using Gemini’s double-sided tape. To give the sign display a professional finish, we used “invisible hardware” and strategically placed multiple clear plastic snaps behind the letters and logo to create the illusion that the sign is floating off the wall.
In the end, this sign display was a culinary masterpiece that showcases a fraction of Gemini’s versatility and our skills at TheSignChef.com.