SHOP TALK BUSINESS | BY DAVID HICKEY, ISA VICE PRESIDENT, GOV’T. AFFAIRS start should there be future national disasters that impact the ability to work.
The industry doesn’t slow down for a pandemic.
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t’s been quite the year, hasn’t it? It may be too early to consider the longterm implications of shutdowns and reopenings, pandemics, masks, and all, but there are a few things, including significant accomplishments, that are worth noticing—especially as they lay groundwork for the future. Companies kept working. As cities and states issued stay-at-home orders, it seemed initially that our industry was going to be excluded as “essential business.” But, we knew—and our customers knew—that our products would be vital forms of communication. ISA’s first step was to start conversations with federal agencies to get sign and graphics companies on the “list.” In the interim, ISA developed letter templates that companies could use to prove their work for companies were esSign Builder Illustrated Magazine (Print ISSN 895-0555, Digital ISSN 21614709) (USPS#0015-805) (Canada Post Cust. #7204564; Agreement #40612608; IMEX Po Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2, Canada) is published monthly 11 times per year in the months of January, February, March, April, May, June/July, August, September, October, November, and December with the exception of June, which is a digital-only issue, by Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation, 88 Pine St. 23rd Floor, New York, NY 10005. Printed in the U.S.A. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and Additional mailing offices. Pricing, Qualified individual working in the sign industry may request a free subscription. Non-qualified subscriptions Print version, Digital version, Both
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sential—like hospitals and restaurants. In addition, templates were developed for employees traveling to and from work who were required to carry letters denoting why they were out and about during stay-at-home orders. In the first few weeks of the stay-athome orders, sign, graphics, and visual communications companies asked ISA to help them prove that they were delivering essential services. Rather than fight this issue one location at a time, ISA was able to convince the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) that our industry’s work contributed to the nation’s “critical infrastructure.” Many cities and states used the CISA list as a starting point, while some adopted the list in full. Now that sign, graphics, and print companies are on the list, we will have a solid base from which to Print & Digital versions: 1 year US/Canada/Mexico $50.00; foreign $99.00. Single Copies are $15.00 ea. Subscriptions must be paid for in U.S. funds only. Prices are subject to change. COPYRIGHT © Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation 2020. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced without permission. For reprint information, contact: Arthur Sutley, Publisher (212) 620-7247 or asutley@ sbpub.com. For Subscriptions, & address changes, Please call (US Only) 1-800-553-8878 (CANADA/INTL) 1-319-364-6167, Fax 1-319-364-4278, e-mail signbuilder@ stamats.com, or write to: Sign Builder Illustrated, Simmons-Boardman Publ.
September 2020
The International Sign Association isn’t done. Our Business Continuity Resource Center (signs.org/bcrc) was designed as a hub to keep vital information—all intended to keep sign and graphics companies operating—in one spot. We’ve learned a lot about the kind of information that you need—pandemic or not—and will use this to continue developing information that you need when you need it. There is still a lot of work to do to put the pandemic behind us and begin to rebuild. And while no one wants to relive this event, it is important to take a step back and enjoy some of the hard-fought successes—especially as those can pay off for years to come. Corp, PO Box 1407, Cedar Rapids, IA. 52406-1407. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Sign Builder Illustrated, PO Box 1407, Cedar Rapids, IA. 52406-1407. Instructional information provided in this magazine should only be performed by skilled crafts people with the proper equipment. The publisher and authors of information provided herein advise all readers to exercise care when engaging in any of the how-to-activities published in the magazine. Further, the publisher and authors assume no liability for damages or injuries resulting from projects contained herein.
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Photo: Shutterstock/CandyBox Images.
The Year So Far
Planners received targeted information. Our advocacy outreach with planners did not stop during this time, especially since temporary signs were crucial to communicating. A restaurant, for instance, might need to boldly advertise its phone number for to-go orders while a retailer might need to remind customers that their business was open. Webinars helped local planners understand these issues and craft reasonable codes to keep these businesses open. That being said, for some, it was business as usual. And the pandemic was no excuse to slow down or overly complicate the permitting process. Planners attending ISA’s Webinars were able to understand how vital a smooth permitting process is to our industry—and ultimately to their community. This was already an area of extreme frustration to our members before the pandemic, and it’s an area in which we’re continuing to work closely with the planning community.
