More than 15,500 vehicles drive through the intersection of Jackson Street and Morton Avenue each day, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation.
And that means many pairs of eyes glance toward the Morton Community Bank’s new and improved community bulletin, a nearly 30-year-old staple in town.
The old sign — which required a person to physically place each letter of the message on the board — was out of date, said Laura Elam, senior vice president of marketing and administration at the bank.
In response, a new LCD bright red sign was put in place in early November.
“Now, we can put it on a computer program,” Elam said. “We’re finally caught up with technology. It was time for an upgrade.”
From birthdays, anniversaries to even some wedding proposals, the sign has informed the community of the latest noteworthy events since July 1980.
“Our board has always been popular,” she said. “We’ve always been busy with messages.”
The new sign holds six messages just like the old one did, said Elam. And like always, each message stays up for 24 hours.
The community bulletin was the “brain child” of Gordon Honegger and Cliff Hasselbacher, said Elam. They saw the sign as a way of keeping the community informed.
The addition of the new LCD sign was one of the first things the bank did to commemorate its 50th anniversary, which will be celebrated in 2010, said Elam.
She added that the response to the new sign has been steady.
“We definitely are a happy message board,” said Elam, adding that all the messages are for the good of the community. “There’s always something going on somewhere.”
To place a messages on the community board, call Morton Community Bank at 266-5337.
