Jonesboro AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – April 29, 2024 – When drivers travel to Jonesboro on one of the major roadways into town, they are greeted by one of six signs welcoming visitors to the community that most would describe as gigantic.
Each of the six welcome signs got a facelift in late 2023 thanks to upgrade efforts by several organizations in Jonesboro.
The project began in 2022 with a dream to unify the Jonesboro brand into one complementary look and style. Jonesboro Unlimited (JU) hosted 9 public focus groups that met during the process to discuss what the overall brand needed to convey. The branding overhaul was an effort led by JU alongside the Jonesboro Advertising and Promotion Commission, the Jonesboro Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Jonesboro Alliance, and the City of Jonesboro working together to make it happen. Ben Muldrow from Muldrow and Associates of Greenville, South Carolina was hired by JU to lead the process.
Brian Richardson from the City of Jonesboro also worked with Beverly Parker from Keep Jonesboro Beautiful and David Hughey from Hughey Nursery Landscaping & Fine Gifts to elevate the landscaping at the I-555 and Highway 49 signs.
Advertising & Promotions Commission Executive Director Craig Rickert said of the project, “The results of the new branding show Jonesboro is a city determined to get rid of a ‘silo’ mentality. It was very special to watch all these groups come together with the determination to put together a unified look.”
The sign upgrades were one part of the overall branding plan that included logo updates and other unifying marketing efforts across NEA.
As with any highly visible project, the sign update project wasn’t without its own group of naysayers. Almost immediately after the signs went up, several citizens took to Facebook to air their grievances regarding the new design.
Even so, several vigilantes can be found in the comments defending the upgrades.
Then-Jonesboro Unlimited Director of Communications Craig Rickert was one of the leaders on the project. He chimed in to defend the new design alongside Jonesboro Unlimited’s Bethania Baray-Harrison.
Even though this round of upgrades was highly discussed online, it’s not the first time these signs have seen a massive overhaul.
“Welcome to Jonesboro” signs are accounted for as far back as 1957, according to minutes from City Council meetings, when $120.00 was allotted for the signs. These were wrought iron, curved metal structures that included round metal medallions for each of the civic clubs represented in the area. Records are unclear if the $120.00 was for building a new sign, or for upkeep of an existing sign.
Valerie Layne posted a photo of the sign on the Craighead County Historical Society’s Facebook Page.
At least one other “Welcome to Jonesboro” sign has existed, this one in an unknown location. The sign bears the “Home of Arkansas State College” sentiment, insinuating that it was on display sometime before 1967, when the school adopted the “Arkansas State University” name.
The metal signs were retired when the first concrete sign was installed on or about 1991. The structure was built on the west side of Highway 63 near Bono Hill. The land was leased from the property owner, Sheryle Greene, to the city of Jonesboro at a price of $1.00 for 10 years. The original blue design included a city seal and the “Welcome to Jonesboro” sentiment alongside an ASU logo and the words “Home of Arkansas State University.”
The next three signs were installed between 1995 and 1997 at Highway 63 near Moore Road, Highway 49S (Southwest Drive), and Highway 1S near Lawson Road. The city entered into a lease agreement with Alec Farmer for the Hwy 63 at Moore Road property. This lease agreement was signed in 1995 and was valid through 2001. The value of the lease was also $1.00. We were unable to locate property records for the Highway 49S and Highway 1S locations.
Records are unclear when the fifth sign was added on Highway 49N near the Farville Curve, but the widening of 49N in 2008 caused a need for the existing sign to be moved.
In addition to the relocation of the Hwy 49N sign, all five signs were given a facelift in 2008 as a result of a “Leadership Jonesboro” class project. A stark contrast to the previous blue, each of the signs was painted red, matching the colors of Arkansas State University.
The sixth and final sign was installed on Highway 18E in August of 2016. A deed to the land where the sign sits was filed for the amount of $10.00. It was painted red and black after installation to match the others.
Social media posts dating back 10+ years showed that many Northeast Arkansas residents found sentimental value in the red and black design.
It seems some believe the Jonesboro signs aren’t just landmarks—they’re part of the city’s story. Its identity.
Linda Richardson posted, “Coming home at the welcome sign to Jonesboro, so glad to be home.” Robin Ansley wrote, “I’ve never been so happy to see the Welcome to Jonesboro sign!!!”
Even so, some residents weren’t thrilled about the recent updates. Kelly Skidmore wrote, “This makes me so sad! The original sign was so much better. I felt like home when I saw it!” and Presley Owen believes the new design “should have been a vote.”
Craig Rickert recently spoke on the city’s spirited response to the signs’ fifth major upgrade in approximately 75 years, “One of the best things about Jonesboro is the passion we have for our community. The response regarding the changing of our branding and the signs speaks to that. I’d rather live in a town that’s passionate and proud than a town that simply shrugs its shoulders in apathy.”
Rickert continued, “Our new look on the signs and online shows intentional unity across Jonesboro’s most forward-facing entities; the city, Arkansas State University, the Jonesboro Regional Chamber of Commerce, Jonesboro Unlimited, the Downtown Jonesboro Alliance, and the Jonesboro Advertising & Promotion Commission.”
Rickert ended his thoughts with this sentiment, “It’s exciting that we live in a community where, across generations, we continually look for ways to improve and be better.”
Editor’s Note:
The “Welcome to Jonesboro” signs have seen five major upgrades since 1957, why was this last one so controversial?
The Jonesboro community was clearly passionate about this project, and I believe the previous design did hold sentimental value to several. The feeling that they got when they drove past the sign… it meant they were home.
But with the dramatic growth of social media between 2008 (the time of the last design overhaul) and now, the community’s feelings about the change were so much more easily shared this time. People might have felt strongly about the previous blue design, or even the multiple signs that predated those, but we didn’t have an easy way to share our every thought and feeling before Facebook came along, did we?
What’s exciting is that the new design can mean that same warm fuzzy feeling for the next generation – if we just give it a chance.
The upgrade and branding initiative wasn’t just about a new paint job or logo. It was about how the city is changing and growing. This project proves that even when change is tough, Jonesboro is committed to moving forward while still holding onto its roots.
Those signs might just be letters on a board, but they stand for a whole lot more—a reminder that, even when things get tough, the city is still on a journey, together.