2nd Annual Readers’ Choice Awards: Ladies First!

Following the rousing success of last year’s Readers’ Choice Awards debut, ST welcomed the opportunity to again offer users a chance to vote. From two first-round surveys, voters chose the top three vote-getters from the opening round and advanced them to the final round, from which voters chose the winner.
We’re hopeful we’ve developed an effective formula; we received 7,744 total votes, a more than 10% increase from last year’s final tally of 6,950. Each voter could only vote once per electronic device, but, in this era, almost everyone has several devices with which to choose their favorites.
The voting was extremely close in the opening rounds: the top three Electric Sign candidates won 46, 45 and 44% of the vote. However, in the final round,
a clear winner emerged: Thomas Sign & Awning Co. Inc.’s blade sign for a US AmeriBank installation
in Ybor City, FL, arguably Tampa’s most historic neighborhood, won by a comfortable margin with 36.6% of the vote.
The flag-wielding patriot is known as Lady Columbia, in honor of Columbia Bank, the financial institution that originally opened on the property in 1950s. Thomas’ sign closely resembles the sign that Columbia originally had installed when the financial institution opened, and the customer wanted to replicate the original bank’s character through its sign.
In second place, with 26.1% of the vote, Gary Johnson, proprietor of Basking Ridge, NJ’s Great American Sign, routed and carved a whimsical shop sign that features a squirrel piloting a plane. In third place, Xpressive Graphix’s (Zanesville, OH) sign for the Olde Falls Inn claimed 13.8% of the contest tallies.

Other finalists included:
• Claude Neon Federal Sign (Tulsa, OK), Reeder’s
• Sonny Franks and Chris Shuster, Lilburn (GA) Mural
• A+ Signs (Old Forge, PA), Scranton-Wilkes Barre
baseball-stadium wall-wrap graphics

The semifinalists:
• House of Signs (Frisco, CO), Snowmass Huus Vode
• Blackout Signs (San Marcos, TX), Atomic Tattoo
• ArtFX Signs (Bloomfield, CT), Gateway Wines and Liquors
• Pinnacle Sign Group (Springfield, MO), Miracle League Ballfield
• Security Signs (Portland) , Hollywood Theater
• Gardner Signs (Troy, MI), Freedom Hill Music Center
• Sign Effectz (Milwaukee), Divino Wine and Dine
• House of Signs, Stagecoach Inn
• Graphix Garage (Pickford, MI), Self Promotion
• Ferrari Color (Salt Lake City), Sun Valley Christmas Display
• House of Signs, Cabin Fever
• Eyecandy Signs (Halifax, NS, Canada), Stubborn Goat Pub
• Security Signs, Portland Rock Gym
• Creative Design Signs (Makawao, HI), Mokapu Market

Here’s a sampling of some of the comments left by voters on the SurveyMonkey.com voting page:
“[The mural is] by far the best design and technical execution. I feel like I can walk down the stepping-stone path into the tunnel.”
“My choice, Lady [Columbia], is the most eye-catching and impressive.”
“The Reeder’s station is a beautiful sign in a beautiful area of town. It’s always been a class act, but the new sign sealed the deal. The sign and building look great!”
“They are all beautiful, but the Yankees [wall wrap] is a beautiful representation of the history and legendary nature of that team in America. It’s beautiful and sentimental.”
“Atomic Tattoo has the best balance in its use of space. The lettering is dynamic, and the use of color is energizing.”
“1) US AmeriBank – true American Spirit 2) Miracle League – Simple but close to heart 3) Olde Falls Inn – reminds me of Disney.”